


life is like a song (i want you to sing to me)

by luthien82



Series: life is like a song [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, Banter, Blow Jobs, Bromance, Drunk Sex, Ensemble Cast, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Humor, Kissing, M/M, Puck is politically incorrect, Romance, Sexual Tension, So Married, Swearing, Unsafe Sex, Weddings, can be read as antisemitism, so is Kurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-19
Updated: 2012-09-19
Packaged: 2017-11-14 15:02:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 60,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/516620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luthien82/pseuds/luthien82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repost from the Kink Meme:</p><p>AU-ish - Kurt and Blaine have been best friends since college. They would do anything for each other, which Blaine proves when Kurt confesses he has to go home for a wedding - a wedding where everyone expects him to bring his long time boyfriend. The thing is: Kurt doesn't have one. But he has a Blaine, who is willing to help. Enter one group of crazy, well meaning friends, a week full of wedding preparations, and lots of sexual tension and you've got yourself a mix that's just bound to blow up in their faces...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Repost from [this Kink Meme Prompt](http://glee-kink-meme.livejournal.com/29310.html?thread=36360574#t36360574) which I answered back in April. The version I'm posting here is slightly different to the original answer. I corrected some time discrepancies (i.e. for some reason I accidentally made Kurt start college at 19) and added some scenes that I forgot while I wrote this. There is no significant change to the overall plot, just some added bonus scenes.
> 
> A huge thank you goes to the anonymous person who prompted this in the first place and has been so encouraging while I posted the story. Also another big thank you to all the people who gave it a chance and pimped it while it was still a WIP.
> 
> Title is a mix up of Etta James' "At Last" and me trying to be witty.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Glee and its characters are the intellectual property of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and 20th Century Fox. No profit is made, this has been written purely for fun.

* * *

_When we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness, and call it love - true love.  
(Robert Fulghum)_

* * *

Blaine was in the middle of writing down the melody that'd been stuck in his head for the better part of the morning – he just _knew_ that it would be the perfect opening sequence for the male lead in the theater production he was currently working for – when Kurt sat down across from him and declared, "So, I've been invited to a wedding back home."

Blaine, still completely engrossed in his writing, hummed in agreement. "That's nice," he mumbled distractedly, then crossed out the last four measures he'd written and moved them closer to the beginning. Yes, that worked so much better.

"I kind of need a date for it."

 _That_ got Blaine's attention. His hand froze and he looked up slowly. The voices and sounds of the diner he’d been sitting in to work on his music - for some reason, he worked best when surrounded by a crowd of strangers - rushed over him like a wave, making him dizzy for a moment. His hazel eyes met Kurt's blue ones over the table top, but neither of them said anything for a moment. If anything, Kurt looked like he was trying to communicate with him on a higher plain or something. Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"And you're asking _me_?"

Kurt fidgeted, looked down at his hands and admitted, "I may have told them I've been in a serious relationship for a while now."

Blaine blinked and let the pen drop down on the table.

He'd known Kurt for six years now, ever since they’d bumped into each other in Blaine's second week of college at NYADA. It had been friendship at first sight, so to speak. Granted, Blaine had always felt a certain level of attraction to Kurt. And really, who could blame him, the man was smoking hot and didn't even know it. But somewhere around the end of their second week of being acquainted, they'd somehow decided by silent agreement that they would work out better as just friends.

And they did. Six years down the road, after bachelor's and master's degrees and roles in small theater productions, after years of laughter and tears and occasional fights about small and big things and everything in between, they'd come out on the other side much stronger and more solid than they might've managed if they'd thrown sex into the mix as well. So instead of a disastrous romantic entanglement, they'd shared every other aspect of a relationship except that part over the past years. At this point Blaine was sure that neither of them would ever stop wanting to have the other one around. He even went so far as to claim that they couldn't function without each other anymore.

Well, _Blaine_ certainly couldn't. Kurt had always been enviably self sufficient.

Which made this whole conversation very strange, really. It wasn't like Blaine wouldn't drop everything at the drop of a hat to help Kurt out, but there were several points to this whole exchange that were highly unusual:

_1\. Kurt never lied._

He was, if anything, the most brutally honest person Blaine knew. It wasn't in his nature to lie, especially not to friends or his family.

_2\. Kurt wasn't in a relationship._

They told each other everything and Blaine would have _known_ if Kurt had been in a serious relationship for the last few months. He wasn't. It was the exact opposite, actually. The last guy Kurt had been talking about hadn't even stayed the night. And had been a horrible lay to boot, according to Kurt.

And then there was the most important point:

_3\. Kurt had never shown any romantic interest in Blaine whatsoever._

Granted, Kurt was probably sitting here right now because he knew that he could ask Blaine for anything and that he would help if he could, but it only brought him back to bullet point number one: _Kurt never lied_. So what the hell had possessed him to lie about something so important, and to the people he cared about most on top of that?

The silence that had settled between them had obviously been too long because Kurt started fidgeting again. Before he could talk himself into a panic attack – Blaine knew how Kurt's brain worked, it came with the job description of being his best and closest friend for six years – Blaine raised his hand and stopped Kurt in his tracks.

"Let me get this straight. You lied - to your _family_ \- about being in a committed relationship that doesn't exist. And now there's a wedding and they expect you to bring that mysterious someone. Only you have no such person to bring so you thought to ask me. Did I get that right?"

Kurt only gave him a flat, unimpressed look. Blaine threw his hands up. " _Why?_ "

Kurt opened his mouth to answer, but Blaine continued before he got the chance, "I mean, why did you lie to your _family_ , Kurt? You didn't even lie to your father about the fake meat you served him when you were visiting him last year because you didn't think it was right. And then you went and did _this?_ I just... I don't get it!"

Silence reigned once more, with Blaine staring at Kurt and Kurt staring right back, his arms crossed over his chest. "Can I talk now?" he asked after a moment, clearly on the way to being pissed off.

Blaine waved his hand. "By all means." God alone knew that _Blaine_ was out of words.

"I wanted my dad to stop worrying about me," Kurt explained, then grimaced. "I mean, I wanted him to stop worrying that I would die all alone because I didn't have a serious boyfriend. He kept asking and asking and then, one night it just slipped out and... It snowballed from there."

He shrugged and looked at the table top. Blaine sighed, rubbing his forehead. Okay, he could understand that. He'd never met Mr. Hummel, never even talked to him, but Kurt had talked about his dad so often that Blaine might as well have. He knew that Mr. Hummel loved his son unconditionally, without fail, and only wanted him to be happy. Blaine didn't know what it was like to be loved by someone like that. His parents' love had always come with conditions, and he'd never figured out if Cooper even liked him or just tolerated him because they were brothers.

But just because he didn't have any personal experience with love like that didn't mean he didn't have the brain capacity to _get_ what it _meant_. Love like that was rare, even though it shouldn't be, and he knew that as soon as Kurt had realized what he'd done, it must have broken his heart. And now he wanted to make it right in any way he could.

Blaine sighed again, rubbing a hand through his dark hair and probably mussing it up even more than it naturally was. "So you want to take me with you because..." he said, trailing off meaningfully.

"You know me like the back of your hand," Kurt finished for him. After a short silence he added quietly, "And you're the only person I trust."

Kurt's words were like a punch to the gut, immediately followed by an all encompassing warmth. Blaine's whole body relaxed and he knew his gaze had turned soft and mushy. It always did when Kurt said stuff like that because, well, it was _Kurt_. He'd earned that trust fair and square and it certainly hadn't been easy. But mostly, he was glad that he'd landed himself a friend like Kurt Hummel.

Even though on days like these he wanted to strangle him a little bit.

"You're a manipulative asshole, I hope you know that," Blaine said, the corner of his mouth twitching. It was enough of a give away for Kurt. A smile slowly bloomed on his face and he grabbed Blaine's hand over the table.

"I know," he said around his grin.

"You'll owe me so big for this," Blaine added, squeezing Kurt's hand.

Kurt's smile softened. "I know," he said quietly, not letting go of Blaine's hand.

A flutter started up in Blaine's gut. He wasn't used to Kurt looking at him like that. He very rarely looked at _anyone_ like that, only when he thought nobody was paying attention. It always did a number on Blaine's emotions. And his libido.

He pushed those feelings aside and patted Kurt's hand before disentangling their fingers.

"So when's this wedding and what do I have to do?"

Kurt looked at him for a long moment before he stood up. "The wedding's in a month and you don't have to do anything." A glint appeared in his blue eyes that made Blaine wary. Kurt just ran a hand through Blaine’s hair - probably to put it back into some semblance of order - and added, "I'll take care of everything."

Now why didn't Blaine feel reassured by these words?

* * *

"What do you mean, 'Pack a bag that'll last you for a week'?"

Kurt looked at him as if Blaine was slow. But hey, when he'd agreed to this three days ago Kurt had never mentioned that they'd be gone for a _week_. This had 'epic disaster' written all over it. He may know Kurt better than anyone, but nobody knew him quite as well as his own family. They were bound to catch on within a week.

They were sitting in Blaine's living room, eating Chinese take out – a rare thing, considering how much of a health freak Kurt was and how tight both of their budgets were most of the time – while watching their obligatory movie of the week. It'd been a tradition ever since they'd found out in their first week of friendship that they both had a crush on Cary Grant. It'd only been a small step from that realization to a standing date once a week to watch classic movies.

"Do you really think you can fool your dad for a week?" Blaine asked, a skeptical eyebrow raised while his gaze strayed back to the TV. He heard Kurt's exasperated sigh next to him and looked back over. Kurt was pouting into his fried rice, poking at it with his chopsticks.

"First of all, we'll be sleeping at a hotel anyway, so our exposure time will be limited.” He paused, fishing for a bit of chicken, before he added, “And second of all, it's not like we're not already accused by everyone we meet that we’re acting like an old married couple. We just have to amp up the touching and lovestruck glances and we'll be fine."

While Kurt pushed his bite into his mouth and chewed, Blaine just stared at him. Was he serious? There was no 'just' about any of those suggestions.

Blaine sighed, put his carton of noodles down and turned on the couch to properly look at Kurt. "Okay, you need to listen to me, Kurt, because I don't think you really get what you're proposing."

"Oh, I get it," Kurt insisted but Blaine covered his hand before he could take another bite. Kurt froze.

"That's exactly what I mean," Blaine said quietly. "It's not that I have a problem with suddenly touching you without prior warning, but you're not exactly a touchy-feely guy. You never have been."

Kurt's shoulders raised defensively and he didn't look at Blaine. "I got better about it."

"You stopped flinching, but that's pretty much it. You are not comfortable with casual touching, Kurt. Well, unless it leads to sex I suppose, but even then it has a purpose and you know it’s coming so it’s not really a surprise. I just..."

He stopped, then took Kurt's food away and put it next to his own. Grabbing both of Kurt's hands at once, he asked, "Look at me, please?"

Kurt did, after a moment. They just stared at each other, not saying anything, but Blaine put all of his worries into his gaze, showed him what he thought about Kurt’s proposal and that he feared it would backfire horribly because of Kurt’s issues. After a while Kurt deflated and closed his eyes. Blaine let out a quiet breath of relief, sure that Kurt had got the message and was taking his concerns seriously.

Of course, in typical Kurt Hummel fashion, he pulled the rug right out from under Blaine's feet when he said, "Well, I guess we need to practice first, then."

Blaine froze with his hand halfway to his noodles. "Ex _cuse_ me?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, but he was definitely more animated now. "Practice, Blaine. I hereby give you permission to touch me whenever you want so I won't freeze up every time you do it when we're under the watchful eye of my family and friends."

Blaine just gaped at Kurt, trying to make the words make sense. In the end he just rubbed his forehead. "Are you even listening to yourself sometimes?" he asked, exasperated.

Kurt seemed to think back on what he'd said, then blushed furiously and amended, "Of course, we're talking about touching that's appropriate for the general public. I don't want you to make out with me in the middle of the street."

Blaine's brain screeched to a halt at _that_ mental image and a faint blush spread on his own cheeks. He had to admit, the idea was rather more appealing than he would've thought. After six years of friendship he'd thought he was over his little crush on Kurt.

Apparently not.

He turned back around and let his head fall back on the couch, closed his eyes and tried to make sense of the last ten minutes. He would happily start touching Kurt – he'd always been touchy-feely, after all. He'd actually been hurt a little at first when he couldn't touch Kurt to emphasize a point or get his attention. But he'd soon realized that Kurt didn't let _anyone_ touch him, and it had soothed the initial hurt. Years later, after he'd gotten the story behind Kurt's fear of being touched and understood and accepted that part of his best friend, he was one of the few people who got to hug Kurt once in a while. It was a hard earned privilege. So to suddenly have permission to touch him whenever Blaine felt the urge to do so? It was more tempting to him than a canary was to a cat.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" he said, which was as good as waving a white flag of capitulation in Kurt's face. Kurt just snorted, then nudged Blaine's thigh with his knee, prompting Blaine to roll his head to the side so he could look at Kurt.

"Seriously, I don't even know why I'm still friends with you," he said mock seriously but only earned himself a punch to the arm.

"And now you're abusing me too!" he complained, and that finally got a laugh out of Kurt who had been tense ever since they'd started this conversation. Blaine couldn't help smiling a little at that before he stretched out his arm and put it over Kurt's shoulder to pull him closer. Kurt tensed, as expected, but breathed deeply and slowly relaxed into Blaine's touch.

"You'll be impossible now, won't you?" Kurt murmured, slowly letting his cheek come to rest on Blaine's shoulder.

"Hush, you. I'm practicing being your _boy_ friend. You got yourself into this mess so stop complaining."

Kurt didn't say anything to that, but he did relax further into Blaine's side and put a careful hand on Blaine’s stomach before he turned his attention back to the movie still playing on TV. Blaine had totally lost track of the plot at this point but he honestly didn't care. Kurt was warm and more or less pliant next to him, and when Blaine's hand started to stroke slowly up and down his arm, Kurt didn't even tense up.

Well, it was progress. Blaine still had his doubts they could pull this off for a whole week but he would certainly try his best. And they still had over three weeks to ‘practice’, after all.

Oh God.

"A week, huh?" he murmured later. Kurt hadn't moved an inch since Blaine had pulled him closer and they were more or less sprawled into the corner of his couch at this point. Neither of them seemed to care all that much.

Kurt made an affirmative noise. "You'll love Ohio."

Blaine snorted. "Somehow I doubt it. I didn't like it much the first time around."

Kurt sat up and looked at Blaine, his face earnest. He'd of course told Kurt about his freshman year of high school, and the punks who had beaten up him and his date after a school dance. Kurt had been horrified, initially, but Blaine had assured him that it was the best for everyone involved. His parents had sent him to boarding school in Connecticut after the incident, and Blaine couldn't really regret that. It had helped him leave behind a whole bag of issues, a mild form of PTSD being only one of them.

"I promise you, nobody will hurt you this time," Kurt said, his voice so earnest that Blaine couldn't breathe for a second. He tried to smile at Kurt but gave it up as a lost cause. He pulled Kurt back into his side instead and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head.

Oddly enough, Kurt seemed to press himself closer to Blaine's side at the gesture, not pull away. Blaine took it as progress and hoped that they would survive a week of Kurt's family and friends in rural Ohio.

"You do realize that I have to talk to my art director to give me a week off when it's only three more months to opening night," Blaine said quietly after a while.

Kurt scoffed. "Please, that guy has a soft spot a mile wide for you. He'll give you anything you want."

Blaine couldn't help but grin. It was certainly true, but while he might get the week he would probably pay for it later on when the crazy cast descended on him after his return. He knew these people well enough by now to see the impending disaster loom on the horizon. God, that favor Kurt owed him better be visible from space!

"So big, Kurt," he whispered and grinned wider when Kurt burst out in a belly laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

'Practice' turned out to be... interesting.

When Kurt had given him blanket permission, Blaine had been sure he would be the one to initiate any and all casual touching. He'd been prepared to go slow, make Kurt get acclimatized to his hands and telegraph his intentions first before touching him. You know, to get Kurt accustomed to which gesture resulted in what kind of touch before Blaine would even think about starting the actual touching.

His notions couldn't have been further from what actually happened.

Giving Blaine permission to touch him seemed to have opened something up in Kurt, like a dam that had broken, as if Kurt was giving _himself_ permission to touch as much as he was giving it to Blaine. It was weird at first when Kurt, instead of staying a respectable few inches away from Blaine in line for their coffee order like he usually did, reached out and touched Blaine's hip to get his attention. Or that one time he pressed himself against Blaine’s back to make room for another customer when it was crowded.

The first time it happened, only a day after their talk, Blaine almost jumped out of his skin in surprise at the sudden full body contact, but got himself under control before he actually _could_ flinch in surprise. Starting to get jumpy when Kurt touched him would've resulted in the complete opposite of what they were trying to do here. If Kurt suddenly became self conscious about touching _Blaine_... no, he didn't even dare thinking about it. It came way too close to Kurt maybe-sort-of starting to fear him and that thought alone made Blaine's skin crawl.

Besides, Blaine didn't exactly _mind_ that Kurt had suddenly gone pro-active about the touching. Quite the opposite, in fact.

So Blaine adjusted his tactics and let Kurt call all the shots, and within a week Kurt had gone from freezing up at unanticipated touches to grabbing Blaine's hand at the weirdest times, be it when they were on the street and he wanted to prevent Blaine from death by cab, or alone at one of their homes for no reason Blaine could discern other than he could and wanted to. In turn, Blaine was finally able to touch Kurt's arm or shoulder when he wanted to get his attention without feeling like the biggest asshole in the world for making Kurt uncomfortable.

It surprised him how fast Kurt became comfortable with Blaine touching him and getting into his personal space, but he supposed it was because Kurt had been able to draw his own lines, go by his own pace. That was essentially Kurt, and Blaine knew that. Trying to force Kurt into doing anything he didn't want to do or wasn't ready for always resulted in the exact opposite. So it was the most logical thing to just let him do his own thing. And after years of keeping his physical distance, it was a humbling and also heady experience to have Kurt opening up to him in that way.

Blaine still wasn’t convinced that the whole thing wouldn’t blow up in their faces as soon as they were around people that were familiar with Kurt. On the plus side, he supposed that at least the casual touching wouldn’t be much of a problem anymore when they arrived in Ohio.

As he'd expected, Gary the art director did give him the week off. In return he almost talked Blaine's ear off about how romantic a May wedding was and that so few people these days deigned a marriage important enough to celebrate the upcoming event for a week. Blaine was glad when one of the stage hands interrupted them with a lengthy question and he could flee.

It was only two more weeks until they would fly out to Ohio and Blaine would meet Kurt's family and friends for the first time. By now he knew that Mike and Tina, two of Kurt's friends from high school, were the ones getting married, and that it would probably result in some sort of reunion of their former Glee club. Blaine had no idea what to expect from that front, because if he believed Kurt's stories they'd always been a protective bunch and would probably grill Blaine to within an inch of his life about his intentions concerning Kurt.

Blaine didn't even dare think about the Hummel-Hudsons.

It wasn't that he was nervous, though he _was_ to a certain degree. Who wouldn't be in his stead? No, the fact that he would have to lie to a bunch of people he'd never met and who meant the world to Kurt - and to whom Kurt meant the world in return - just didn't sit right with Blaine. On the other hand, he really did care a whole lot for Kurt, and he would do anything to prevent him getting hurt. So he justified the lie about their romantic entanglement with the fact that the rest of his relationship with Kurt was the truth and nothing but the truth.

When Kurt more or less kidnapped him one afternoon to get him fitted for a tux, Blaine's anxiety levels spiked as he realized that he would attend a wedding as Kurt's _boyfriend_. He tried to breathe through his mild panic attack and appear confident and not feel weird about Kurt wanting to fit him with a tux for the occasion. He was only moderately successful.

Kurt had dragged him to an old college friend of his, a small time designer who owed Kurt a favor – and still had hopes of getting into Kurt's pants one of these days, Blaine was told – for a specially made and affordable tux. While Blaine’s measurements were taken, Kurt was skimming through the latest issue of 'Vogue'. Blaine couldn't keep still for long, being vaguely uncomfortable with some stranger's hands so close to his crotch and still reeling from all the anxieties about the upcoming visit. To get his mind to calm down, he asked, "Remind me again how this week will go?"

Kurt didn't even look up while he recited, "We'll arrive at Dayton airport early afternoon on Sunday, where we'll be picked up by my dad and probably Carole and Finn. Then they'll drive us back to Lima and to our hotel."

"Why are we staying in a hotel again?" Blaine interrupted.

Kurt stopped leafing through the magazine and shot him a pointed look. "Do you really want to sleep in my dad's house with my dad thinking we're going to have sex every time the bedroom door closes behind us?"

Blaine could feel the blush rise on his cheeks. "Fair point."

"I thought so," Kurt quipped, then resumed their itinerary. "We'll check in, and depending on whether my dad insists on having dinner together or not, we'll either spend the evening with my family or at the hotel. On Monday we'll meet up with Mike and Tina, which you will love and adore, by the way."

Kurt shot him a pointed look over his magazine and Blaine just grinned. He saw the small smile on Kurt's lips before he hid behind the pages and continued, "I guess chances are pretty high that the rest of the bunch will have arrived by then as well, which might dissolve into either getting drunk together or becoming a weepy reunion group hug. We'll have to play it by ear."

"I'm still not sure why we're spending a week there when the ceremony is on Saturday."

Kurt sighed and let the magazine fall to his lap. "The maid of honor demanded it, and what Rachel Berry wants, Rachel Berry gets. Apparently there is some surprise performance for the bride and groom involved and we need to practice."

Blaine didn't know much about Rachel Berry other than that she'd been Kurt's friend in high school and was supposed to go to New York with Kurt after graduation. Well, and that she was a big star in a TV show these days. Kurt had told him a few years ago when Blaine had talked about said TV show that her plans of coming to New York with him had fallen through and she went to LA instead. She'd barely arrived when she'd been cast for a new TV show. Kurt never really talked about it in detail, but Blaine was pretty sure it had hurt him that one of his closest friends didn't go through with their original plans.

"I'm certain we'll have to stage a rescue at one point for Mike and Tina, too," Kurt continued without going into details about Rachel, even sounding amused at the prospect of having to rescue bride and groom. "I don't think Tina can take too much fussing from her family, and combined with Mike's parents it'll probably drive them both up the wall before long. My dad would also like to spend some time with me as I'm so rarely home these days. And there's the bachelorette party, of course, which will be on Thursday, just in case it gets a little out of hand and the bride and groom might have a hangover. Nothing destroys the romance of a wedding faster than a headache."

"I suppose," Blaine said, then stepped off of the podium. Kurt sat up and patted the seat next to him while simultaneously reaching for a binder with designs and color pallets. Blaine sat down without protest.

The next half hour Kurt and his friend were engaged in a discussion about what sort of cut the tux should have, and whether dark gray would suit Blaine better than simple black. When Blaine pointed out he could also go with navy, Kurt almost killed him with his disapproving glare. He shut up after that and let Kurt decide. He'd always had more of an eye for these things than Blaine anyway.

The whole thing took them a little over three hours, and even then they weren't done. The final fitting would be done three days before they left. Blaine just hoped it would be ready in time or Kurt might suffer a heart attack. He was already a bundle of nerves most of the time.

As time was wont, it flew by faster than Blaine had anticipated, and between rehearsals and last minute changes before his week long leave of absence, he was almost surprised when Kurt hijacked him once more to get his tux. When they arrived this time, Blaine was pushed unceremoniously to a curtained off area and got handed some soft, black fabric to change into. He did so, being careful with the garment while he put it on. After a last casual glance down his body, he pushed the curtain aside.

Kurt’s friend was on him in an instant, plucking here and smoothing over fabric there, but the pleased smile on his face told Blaine that the tux was perfect. He looked over at Kurt who was oddly silent. He almost did a double take when he saw the faint flush on Kurt’s cheeks while his gaze slowly traveled up and down Blaine’s body.

“Are you checking me out?” he blurted out and wanted to kick himself right after. Kurt’s gaze flew up to Blaine’s face and for a horrible second Blaine thought he might leave in an offended huff. But then Kurt straightened his shoulders and gave him a smirk.

“Of course I’m checking you out. You’re my boyfriend, after all.”

Kurt’s friend almost dropped his pincushion at that and looked between the two of them. It was obviously the first time _he_ 'd heard anything about Kurt Hummel being off the market. Blaine didn’t know what to say in reply for a second, but then he realized that they were supposed to play a role for the foreseeable future and grinned back. Two could play at that game.

“And do you like what you see?” Blaine asked in a voice he’d never used on Kurt before but which got him laid nine times out of ten. It seemed to have the desired effect on Kurt, too. He blushed furiously and looked away quickly. Then he caught on that they were playing some weird form of chicken here and blinked at Blaine through his lashes while he said in a smoky voice, “Always.”

Blaine’s breath hitched in his throat when a ball of heat exploded low in his gut.

Oh god, this was _so_ going to blow up in their faces.


	3. Chapter 3

The flight to Ohio was uneventful, as expected. The whole time, Kurt didn’t let go of Blaine’s hand. It wasn’t like he minded or anything, it was actually reassuring because with every mile they got closer to Kurt’s family, Blaine’s heartbeat picked up. He just hoped he wouldn’t suffer a heart attack before they touched the ground.

“Relax,” Kurt murmured a few minutes before they landed, squeezing Blaine’s hand reassuringly. “They’ll love you.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you won’t be interrogated to within an inch of your life,” Blaine said. Kurt laughed at him.

“Wait until you meet my family and friends and _then_ we’ll talk again.” He patted Blaine’s hand one more time before he let go to buckle his seat belt. Blaine did his best not to pout at the loss of contact and instead did the same. He breathed deeply and tried to calm down while he gripped the armrests tightly. It would be fine, everything would be fine.

Maybe if he said it often enough it would become true.

They touched down and went through baggage claim, and before they could emerge into the airport proper, Kurt stopped him and put his hands on Blaine’s shoulders. Closing his eyes, Blaine took a deep breath before he looked at Kurt. “We’re going to be fine,” Kurt said for the millionth time, and something in Blaine almost believed him this time around, so he nodded and gave Kurt a small smile.

They picked up their luggage and made their way out into the airport hall. Blaine looked around at the groups of people, trying to spot anyone who might be related to Kurt. He didn’t have to search long. They’d barely cleared the door when someone shouted, “Kurt!”

Blaine’s head whipped around and he saw a tall, lanky guy waving like a maniac. Blaine blinked, not used to so much enthusiasm from one person. It took him only a moment to figure out that this must be Finn, Kurt’s stepbrother. A quick glance at Kurt confirmed that assumption. The smile on Kurt’s face spoke volumes.

They steered into Finn’s direction, and that’s when Blaine noticed the couple standing next to him. The man was clearly Kurt’s father. It was astonishing how much family resemblance there was, even though Kurt was the complete opposite of Mr. Hummel when it came to their fashion choices and styling.

“Dad!” Kurt exclaimed next to Blaine, then moved faster until he almost walked right into the open arms of Mr. Hummel. Father and son hugged, seemingly forgetting they had company.

“Good to see you, kiddo,” Blaine heard Mr. Hummel murmur, his big hands patting Kurt’s back gently. The woman who was most likely Carole stroked a hand over Kurt’s shoulder and echoed her husband’s sentiment, the love and affection for her stepson obvious on her face. Blaine couldn’t stop looking at them, feeling all warm inside at so much obvious affection displayed so freely.

His bubble of solitude was rudely popped when a strong hand landed on his shoulder and Finn said, “So you must be Blaine.”

Blaine tensed, then looked to the side and up. And up. And up. Holy shit how tall _was_ this guy? He’d steeled himself for mild disapproval or maybe just indifference, but he was surprised when all he could see on Finn’s face was curiosity.

Then he realized that Finn had said his name. He hadn’t told him his name yet, how the hell did Finn know his name? Had Kurt mentioned him before they'd flown out here? He'd never said anything to Blaine about it.

That’s when Mr. Hummel walked over to them and regarded Blaine with an equally curious but much more steely look. “So you’re the infamous Blaine, huh? Wasn’t sure that I’ll ever gonna meet you, the way my son kept clamping up every time I asked about you. But he was adamant that you’re treating him right.” Then he held out his hand for Blaine to shake.

Blaine was confused and felt the panic rise in his throat again, not quite sure what to do here. In the interest of, well, not getting _killed_ by Kurt’s dad, he hastily grabbed Mr. Hummel’s hand and replied, “It’s good to meet you too, Mr. Hummel.”

He shot a quick glance to Kurt over Mr. Hummel’s shoulder but he was enveloped in a hug by Carole and didn’t pay them much attention.

“How did you two meet again?” Mr. Hummel asked, and Blaine’s attention snapped back to him. He thought quickly back to what him and Kurt had agreed on telling them, then said, “At NYADA. We had a course together, and we found out pretty early on that we both love classic movies. It sort of developed from there.“

Mr. Hummel nodded, then opened his mouth to no doubt ask him more questions but luckily Kurt and Carole joined their circle at that moment.

“Could you save the interrogation for later, dad?” he said, pressing himself closer to Blaine's side, who was pathetically grateful for the contact. “We’re both a bit tired from the flight.”

Mr. Hummel looked at them both for a long moment before he shrugged. “Sure.”

“Let me help you with the bags,” Finn offered and took both their suitcases as if they weighed nothing. Blaine gaped a bit, but when the family started heading to the exit he saw his small window of opportunity, grabbed Kurt’s arm and held him back until they were relatively out of earshot.

“They know my name,” he hissed at Kurt. “When did you tell them my name, Kurt?”

Kurt’s jaw clenched and he studiously didn’t look at Blaine. It finally dawned on him and he stopped abruptly, stopping Kurt along with him. “Are you telling me you made them believe that _I_ was your boyfriend?” Kurt was definitely avoiding his eyes now. Oh great, this was just _perfect_.

“Are you out of your mind?” Blaine hissed, shooting a quick glance over to Kurt’s family who were almost at the doors and would probably notice any moment that they weren’t with them anymore. “Why did you tell them I’m your boyfriend?”

“I panicked, okay?” Kurt hissed back.

Blaine gaped at him. “What do you mean, you _panicked_? You _never_ panic, Kurt!”

“I did in this case!”

Blaine stopped and actually looked at Kurt this time. He looked _miserable_. And Blaine got it, he really did. Kurt’s dad didn’t strike him as a guy who wouldn’t want to know every little detail about the person his son was involved with. And as Kurt wasn’t prone to lying much in the first place, Blaine could see how he might have panicked and blurted out the first name that came to mind. Considering that they spent so much time together anyway, it wasn’t really so far fetched that it had been Blaine’s name that slipped out.

“So I’ve been your boyfriend all along?” he asked quietly, and at Kurt’s tight little nod, he sighed deeply and let his head fall forward until it rested on Kurt’s shoulder.

“You’re going to kill me with premature heart failure, you know that?” he mumbled into Kurt’s shirt. He was surprised when Kurt’s arms lifted and came to rest on Blaine’s shoulders.

“Don’t say that,” Kurt whispered, pulling him close until they were hugging. Without thinking about it, Blaine’s arms slid around Kurt’s waist and he squeezed back. “Sorry. But you could’ve told me sooner.”

“I know,” Kurt admitted and squeezed him tighter.

They stayed like that for a moment until Finn yelled, “You two coming or what?”

They didn’t jump apart, but they did let go and looked at each other sheepishly before they turned and made their way over to the Hummel-Hudsons who were waiting for them by the doors. Mr. Hummel had a strange look on his face and Blaine wasn’t sure what it meant. Just to be on the safe side he held his hand out for Kurt to take, who looked first at it and then at Blaine before taking it, entwining their fingers. A small smile played on his lips. Blaine’s heart skipped a beat at that.

“Well, this could’ve gone worse I suppose,” Blaine said to Kurt, looking at his family. “Just tell me that was the last surprise of this journey.”

* * *

“Oh, you have _got_ to be _kidding_ me!”

Blaine couldn’t help but stare at the bed in their hotel room. Bed, as in 'singular'. Not two beds, but one. Granted, it was a double, but still. One. Only one, and no couch. Not even an ottoman.

And there were two of them.

“I swear to god I told my dad it was okay to get us two singles,” Kurt said, looking equally as shocked at the bed as Blaine. “Apparently he let it slip that the room was for his son and his boyfriend and the hotel manager wanted to make sure we know he’s progressive and doesn’t have a problem with gay couples so he upgraded us.”

“And thanks to the wedding all the other rooms are booked solid and this is the only room left,” Blaine joked. When he saw Kurt’s wince he just stared. “Seriously?”

"Mike and Tina's families are all from out of town and there are _a lot_ of them," was Kurt's answer.

Blaine flung his hands up and started pacing. “What is this, RomCom 101?”

Kurt snorted.

Blaine glared at him. “I’m serious, Kurt. This is the most ridiculous thing that’s ever happened to me!”

Kurt’s shoulders shook. Blaine wasn’t sure if he was laughing or crying. Maybe a combination of both.

“I swear, if you suddenly reconnect with the high school sweetheart you never told me about and are going to marry him by the end of the week I’m out of here!”

That was apparently too much. Kurt collapsed on the bed, laughing hard and loud before he opted to hide his face in a pillow. Blaine stopped his pacing and just looked at him, not quite sure why this was so funny to Kurt. Maybe he was hysterical. Blaine could relate, really he could. He felt a little hysterical himself.

After a moment Kurt rolled over onto his back, a silly smile on his face while he beckoned Blaine closer. Blaine did so reluctantly until Kurt could grab his hand to pull him down on the bed next to him. They shifted around, rearranging themselves until they faced each other on their sides. Kurt was still smiling while Blaine tried to keep a frown on his face to express his disapproval about the whole ridiculous situation.

"Don't worry, there are no high school sweethearts that could sweep me off my feet," Kurt said and let his thumb brush over Blaine's forehead to smooth away the lines. It worked like a charm and Blaine relaxed back into the mattress.

"I guess it would've been stranger if we had insisted on singles," he conceded, closing his eyes while Kurt's thumb continued stroking over his forehead.

Kurt hummed in agreement, his fingers fanning out and moving down over Blaine's cheek and then into his hair. Blaine almost started purring at the soft touch on his scalp. Instead he said lazily, "Serves you right to let your dad make the hotel arrangements."

"He offered."

"Still," Blaine insisted, then fell silent and enjoyed Kurt's fingers in his hair, playing with his thick, unruly strands. His breathing evened out and he probably would've drifted off if Kurt hadn't started speaking at that moment.

"We can share the bed."

Blaine's eyes popped open. He was met with a level look from Kurt, and for a second Blaine wasn't sure if he'd dreamed the words but then Kurt added, "Neither of us should sleep on the floor and the bed is certainly big enough. It'll be fine."

"You keep saying that," Blaine mumbled, closing his eyes again. "And yet, every time we turn a corner, something else hits us square in the face."

He fell silent and took a minute to think about what it meant to sleep in the same bed as Kurt. Even though they'd been friends for so long now, they'd never shared a bed before. Oh, Blaine had slept countless times on Kurt's couch when the evening had become too long and he wouldn't have been able to find his way home, but it was certainly different to see Kurt in the morning after he'd already had time to wake up and complete his morning routine as opposed to waking up right next to him.

A small part, one he resolutely ignored, was curious and excited about finding out what Kurt looked like first thing in the morning. What he looked like when he slept.

"Alright," Blaine said in an attempt to shut his inner voice up and to answer Kurt's proposal.

"Okay," Kurt said quietly. His fingers, which had stopped stroking Blaine's hair, started up again and Blaine felt the earlier sleepiness tug on his conscience again.

"You can sleep for a bit if you want. My dad won't expect us for another two hours."

Blaine hummed quietly and sank deeper into the mattress.


	4. Chapter 4

When Blaine woke up again, Kurt was no longer with him on the bed. He wasn’t anywhere where Blaine could see, in fact. Confused, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinking into the dimly lit room.

“Kurt?” he asked, voice raspy from sleep. He heard some weird noise in the bathroom, and a moment later Kurt emerged from it.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” he said, leaning against the door frame.

Blaine frowned and fell back into the cushions, still a little confused from his impromptu afternoon nap. “How long was I asleep?”

“Just under an hour,” Kurt said, crossing the room to the window. “I unpacked our stuff while you were out.”

“Okay.”

Blaine shook his head to clear the last of the fog in his brain, then put his arms over his head and stretched, his body making a graceful arch on the mattress. A low groan escaped him when he felt his body wake up and tell him how _good_ this felt.

With a happy sigh he slumped back in on himself after a moment, then rolled to the edge of the bed and stood up. “Okay, I’m ready when you are. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get to your dad’s early.” He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced when he caught on a few tangled strands. “Let me just freshen up a little bit,” he added, walking to the bathroom.

When Kurt remained oddly silent, Blaine stopped and looked over his shoulder to see him still standing by the window. His cheeks were a little flushed and his fingers were fiddling with the hem of his shirt sleeve - a sure fire sign that Kurt was nervous about something and totally embarrassed by it.

“Are you okay?” Blaine turned, ready to go over there and hug him if he needed it, but Kurt just waved his hand and nodded.

“Everything’s fine. Go make yourself pretty.”

“You sure?” Blaine asked just in case, but Kurt nodded and turned around to look out the window. Blaine stared at his shoulders, how tense they still were even though Kurt had said everything was fine. He bit back a sigh and went into the bathroom. He knew how to pick his battles with Kurt, and this one wouldn’t go anywhere.

It was only when he was washing his face that Kurt’s parting words really registered in Blaine’s mind. He stopped and stared at his reflection which was looking back at him with a small frown and a lot of confusion in his hazel eyes.

He knew what he _wanted_ it to mean, in a secret corner of his heart, but he wasn’t so delusional to think that Kurt had developed a thing for him all of a sudden. It was probably just Kurt being Kurt and his choice of words didn’t mean anything.

“Get yourself together,” Blaine mumbled, reaching for a towel to dry his face and hands. “He’s probably just out of his mind about his family.”

Nodding to himself, because that had to be the reason for Kurt’s odd behavior, he put the towel away, straightened his hair and exited the bathroom.

* * *

When they stood in front of the Hummel-Hudsons' door, Blaine had a sudden bout of nervousness so strong that he took an involuntary step back, taking Kurt who was holding his hand with him in the process.

“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked, worry in his eyes.

Blaine shook his head. “Just... not ready to face the music yet, I guess.”

Kurt frowned, but his stance loosened up. “What are you so afraid of, Blaine?”

Blaine gave him an unimpressed stare. “Kurt, they think I’m your _boy_ friend. I’m pretty sure it’s in everyone’s family’s job description to hate the significant other just on principle alone.”

“And you hate it when people don’t like you,” Kurt said, nodding along all grave and serious. Suddenly his hand shot up and he flicked Blaine's nose with his finger.

“Ouch! What was that for?” He gave Kurt a wounded look but Kurt ignored him and instead started straightening Blaine’s shirt collar.

“They won’t kill you, I promise. They will be happy for me that I found someone I want to be with and sooner or later they’ll fall for you and your natural charm anyway.” He didn’t meet Blaine’s eyes at that, but his hands stopped and just rested on Blaine’s chest, warm and strong and _there_. Blaine took a deep breath and tried to squash the tingling feeling that had started up in his belly the second Kurt’s hands had started to touch him.

They were silent for a moment before Kurt took a deep breath, looked up into Blaine’s eyes and smiled. “Besides, you couldn’t run away now even if I would let you," he said, suddenly increasing the volume of his voice to add, "because Finn has been standing behind that door ever since we arrived.”

There was a pregnant pause before the front door opened and a sheepish looking Finn smiled at them from the hall. Blaine looked over Kurt’s shoulder and tried to smile back, but he wasn’t sure if he’d succeeded.

“We might as well go inside now,” Kurt said quietly, for Blaine’s ears only. Then he held out his hand for Blaine to take, which he did with a small flutter in his gut. God, the week hadn’t even started yet and he was already losing control over his emotions. He was _not_ Kurt’s boyfriend, and he better not forget that little fact.

As soon as they were inside and surrounded by the Hummel-Hudsons, some of Blaine’s earlier anxiety fell away from him. Mrs. Hummel-Hudson - “Just call me Carole, sweetheart” - smiled at him and asked them if they’d settled in fine at the hotel while they walked through the hall into the living room.

Blaine smiled back, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, I slept away part of the afternoon so I suppose the bed is fine at least.”

Mr. Hummel cleared his throat, then rubbed his ear. “Yes, well. Dinner’s ready in about twenty minutes,” he said, apropos of nothing. Blaine couldn’t help but feel that he was a little uncomfortable with the topic, though God alone knew why. Blaine had just been _sleeping_ on the bed, not debauched his son in it.

Oh. _Oh._. Okay, he could see why Mr. Hummel might have a problem with the topic. Blaine felt his ears grow hot and he looked at his feet, trying to push the image of a debauched Kurt on the sheets of their hotel bed out of his head. ‘Not the time, Blaine. _So_ not the time!’

“Can I help?” Kurt asked, startling Blaine and _not helping at all_ with getting the images out of his head! But then he realized Kurt hadn’t been talking to him, but to Carole who nodded gratefully. “Could you make the salad and that unbelievable dressing? I never seem to manage to quite get it right.”

“That’s because of my secret ingredient,” Kurt replied, winking at her.

“Can I help with anything?” Blaine asked, already turning to follow Kurt and Carole, but she and Mr. Hummel both shook their heads, insisting that he was a guest and to go make himself comfortable on the couch.

He should’ve known that it would be the set up for an ambush. Kurt had barely left the living room with Carole when Finn sank down on the couch next to him, with Mr. Hummel in an armchair across from them. Blaine contemplated his chances of escaping to the kitchen but the determined look in Mr. Hummel’s eyes had him rooted to the couch.

“So, Blaine,” he began, eyeing him up. “Kurt’s been real tight lipped about you. Could barely get a name out of him.”

Blaine fought back the urge to close his eyes and mumble ‘here we go’ or something along those lines. Instead he lifted his chin and said, “What do you want to know?”

Mr. Hummel seemed surprised at the open invitation to grill him for information, but Finn didn’t seem to have the same problem. “You’re 25 like Kurt?” 

Blaine nodded, looking at him.

“Where did you grow up?” That was Mr. Hummel. Blaine looked over at him, trying not to feel like he was at a tennis match.

“I grew up in Westerville. Not that far from here, actually.”

Mr. Hummel nodded. “You been in a Glee club over there?”

Blaine shook his head. “I never got the chance. I moved to Connecticut when I was fourteen. Well, almost fifteen, I suppose.”

“Your parents moved?”

Blaine’s jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists briefly. This wasn’t exactly a topic he liked to talk about, and if he really _were_ Kurt’s boyfriend he would happily answer every question Mr. Hummel might have for his potential son-in-law just to ease his mind and show him that the man his son was dating had nothing to hide. But as it were, Blaine was reluctant to open up to a man he barely knew and who he was lying to about his relationship to Kurt.

In the end his inherent sense of always telling the truth came through and he said, “No, just me. My parents sent me to boarding school there after... after something happened at my school and they didn’t feel like I was safe anymore, here in Ohio.”

Something strange happened on Mr. Hummel’s face at that. Silence settled over them and Blaine could see that Mr. Hummel wanted to ask some very pointed questions, but then seemed to think better of it and instead said, “Kurt tells me you’ve got a Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theater too?”

Blaine nodded, grateful that Mr. Hummel had dropped the topic of his move and why he hadn’t been safe at school back then.

“You planning on making that a Master’s at one point?” was his next question.

Blaine shook his head. “No, sir. I’ve been lucky, I found a job with a theater company about a year ago and I’ve been writing music and songs for them ever since.”

Mr. Hummel’s eyebrows shot up. “So you’re more of a composer then?”

Blaine looked sheepish. “I suppose. It’s not that I don’t want to stand on the stage and perform, it’s just...” He looked away and down at his hands, now resting loosely on his thighs. “It’s been hard, trying to get an in, and when this chance presented itself to me I took it. It’s not the same as performing, but once in a while I get to sing on stage too. It’s only my priorities that have shifted, not my passion.” He looked back up then, squaring his jaw and holding Mr. Hummel’s gaze to emphasize his point. “I’ve been lucky, and I’m thankful every day that I can work in the theater business at all, no matter in which profession.”

Mr. Hummel’s mouth twitched. Blaine wasn’t sure if he’d somehow offended Kurt’s dad without meaning to and was already thinking frantically about how he could rescue the evening _if_ he had when Finn piped up again.

“You like any sports?”

The unexpected left turn in the conversation took Blaine completely by surprise and he couldn’t help the short laugh that escaped him. Finn just looked at him expectantly.

“I’ve always been fond of watching a game of football once in a while,” he admitted. “And March Madness appeals to the maths geek in me.”

Not to mention all the basketball players in sweaty shirts with delectable abs, but he wasn’t suicidal enough to mention that to Kurt’s stepbrother or, God forbid, his _father_.

It seemed to be enough of an incentive for Finn anyway because he started grilling Blaine about his favorite teams of both sports and if he'd played any sports in Connecticut. Blaine had to admit that he hadn't but always wanted to, and that nowadays he tried to jog once in a while to keep in shape.

“Can the sports talk for a minute, dinner is ready,” Carole thankfully interrupted them before either of the men could remember that they'd derailed completely from their original conversation. Blaine shot up from the couch and walked over to her with purpose and not a little desperation. “Can I do anything?”

She smiled at him, slightly bemused, before she pointed to the dining room with her head. “You can help Kurt arrange the settings, if you want.”

He could’ve kissed her out of sheer gratitude but restrained himself to a blinding smile instead. Then he hurried out of the room and to Kurt’s side. He was in the process of putting napkins next to the plates and humming something under his breath when Blaine found him. He couldn’t help but smile a little at the ease and tranquility Kurt radiated. It was a rare sight indeed.

“Carole is officially my new favorite person,” he said in a quiet voice so as not to startle Kurt, who laughed and looked over his shoulder briefly.

“What did she do?”

Blaine put his hands in his pockets and moved over to Kurt’s side. “Didn’t leave me to the tender mercies of your dad and Finn, unlike you.” Kurt smiled at him sideways. “I’m serious, that was a mean thing to do, leaving me alone with them when you knew exactly what would happen.”

“You survived, didn’t you?” Kurt quipped and put the last napkin down before turning to face Blaine. Blaine pouted at him, just to be contrary.

“Awww, you poor thing,” Kurt cooed. “Come here.” With that he put his hands on Blaine’s cheeks and pulled him forward until their foreheads rested against each other. Blaine’s hands moved to encircle Kurt’s waist more out of reflex than real intention. His mind was still reeling over the fact that Kurt had initiated this without anyone being present to watch them when Kurt said quietly, “Thank you for doing this for me, Blaine.”

Blaine’s eyes fell closed and he exhaled slowly, falling headfirst into the sensation of Kurt touching him and letting him see so much of his emotions. “Anytime,” he whispered back, squeezing Kurt’s waist briefly.

They were interrupted when Mr. Hummel cleared his throat and said, “Sit down, kiddo. Dinner’s getting cold.”

Blaine had expected that Kurt would step away from him as quickly as possible out of sheer mortification of having been interrupted by his dad. Blaine certainly felt the urge to run away in a panic. But instead, Kurt surprised him by slowly raising his head and giving Blaine a gentle smile before stepping back to look at his dad.

“You don’t even like wholegrain rice and chicken breast all that much,” he said, gesturing Blaine to a chair.

Mr. Hummel huffed. “Got used to it in the end, between you and Carole force feeding me the healthy sh--stuff.”

“That’s because we want you around for a long, long time, honey,” Carole said when she entered the dining room, pressing a kiss to her husband’s cheek before setting down the bowls of rice and salad. Finn appeared shortly after, setting down the pan with the chicken breasts.

Conversation over dinner revolved around town gossip about people Blaine had never met but which seemed to mean something to Kurt at least. He kept quiet and passed dishes when required, always smiling at whoever he was giving it to. He was secretly glad not to be in the spotlight any longer, and he suspected that Kurt feigned more interest for all these people than he actually held for them just to give Blaine time to breathe. He was pathetically grateful for that.

At one point Kurt’s hand found his knee and squeezed, startling Blaine so hard that he almost upended his water glass.

“You’re doing fine,” Kurt assured him quietly, giving him a soft smile. Blaine couldn’t help but return it, patting Kurt’s hand still resting on his knee. He went back to eating the last of his meal shortly after and tried to ignore the fluttery feeling that had yet again made an appearance at Kurt’s touch.

They didn’t stay much longer after dinner had ended, Kurt opting out by saying that they had a date for breakfast with Mike and Tina. Mr. Hummel didn’t look entirely happy but went with it, wrangling a promise out of Kurt for another dinner or at least lunch sometime that week.

“I promise, dad,” Kurt said before hugging his dad goodbye. Blaine was waiting next to the front door, having already said his goodbyes to Carole and Finn. Apparently he would see _him_ again tomorrow night, as the rest of the former Glee club was scheduled to finally arrive in town and they’d planned some sort of reunion.

When Kurt and his dad let go of each other, Mr. Hummel stepped forward and extended a hand for Blaine to shake. He did so, trying to appear confident and not like a nervous wreck. Mr. Hummel’s mouth twitched again, signaling that Blaine's attempt had been only moderately successful. “Looking forward to seeing you again,” he said after a pregnant pause.

That... sounded very, _very_ ominous. Blaine dug up every acting ability he had at his disposal and gave Kurt’s dad an enthusiastic smile in return. “I’m looking forward to it too, Mr. Hummel.”

And, okay, that might have sounded like a challenge Blaine hadn’t exactly planned to issue, but it seemed to amuse Mr. Hummel even more because his eyes had lit up at Blaine’s words. Oh god, he wasn’t going to survive this week, was he?


	5. Chapter 5

Waking up next to Kurt turned out to be even weirder than Blaine had anticipated.

For one thing, he didn't wake up next to him so much as almost on top of him. Apparently Blaine was a cuddly sleeper who wound himself around his bed partners. It had been so long that he'd slept and woken up with another person in his bed that he'd totally blanked that part of his personality out.

Kurt, on the other hand, seemed to be a heavy sleeper. He didn't even twitch when Blaine disentangled their limbs and slid out of bed to use the bathroom.

The other thing was that Kurt smelled really, _really_ nice.

Blaine had always known that Kurt was meticulous with his personal hygiene, but waking up with his nose buried in Kurt's neck had a totally new effect on him. He was almost surrounded by Kurt's natural scent, making Blaine smile without even knowing why. It did things to him. Hence his rapid journey to the bathroom.

Standing under the hot spray of the shower, he tried to get his mind to stop going down that road and forget how pleasant Kurt had smelled and that Blaine wanted to bury his face in Kurt's hair and never move ever again. His cock twitched at the thought alone and for a moment Blaine was seriously tempted to grab it and just go to town, but then he remembered that Kurt was the reason he'd woken up half hard and that he was _right on the other side of the door_ , so he ignored the demands of his body and grabbed the shampoo instead to start washing his hair.

He was out of the shower and in the middle of shaving when he heard signs that Kurt was waking up. Blaine paused and listened for any footsteps, but when he didn't hear anything of the sort, he finished his ablutions and opened the bathroom door with a towel slung around his waist, letting out the steam of his earlier shower along with himself.

Kurt was still lying in bed, dozing with half lidded eyes. Blaine had to admit that he was a little surprised by Kurt not being someone who woke up and was ready to go. His by now almost legendary skin routine was time consuming enough that Kurt must get up extremely early every morning to be ready on time. How did he manage that when he was barely even conscious first thing in the morning? Sleepwalk his way through his morning routine? At least he didn't seem cranky, just very, very sleepy.

Blaine had the sudden urge to go over there, crawl over the mattress and drop a lazy, open-mouthed kiss on Kurt's shiny red lips. The mental image almost blindsided him with its intensity and he blinked rapidly to get rid of it.

His cock had woken up again though. Well, shit.

"Morning!" he said overly bright and made his way over to the dresser to search for some clothes. It also put his back to Kurt, which was a real blessing right now until he had his body back under control. Fuck, and here he'd thought his teenage years were far behind him. Apparently being in close quarters with Kurt Hummel made him seventeen again.

Kurt made a vaguely coherent sound of acknowledgment that he’d heard Blaine, before silence fell between them yet again. Blaine risked a quick glance over his bare shoulder to see what Kurt was doing, but he seemed to have dozed off again. His eyes were closed and his cheeks flushed. He looked adorable and oh so content. The urge from earlier was still very much alive in Blaine's head. He vehemently told it to shut up.

“Not to rain on your parade or anything,” Blaine said quietly, turning back around to concentrate on finding his underwear, “but you have to get up soon if we don’t want to be late for breakfast.”

“It’s more of a brunch type thing anyway,” Kurt mumbled, his voice thick with sleep but the rustling behind Blaine told him that Kurt was finally moving. Hopefully he was going to the bathroom so Blaine could start dressing without letting the towel drop in front of him. Much as a small part in him wanted to see how he would react, Blaine would rather not do it when there were still erotic images of Kurt floating around in his brain that made Blaine’s cock way too happy to see him.

“Give me an hour,” Kurt mumbled again before Blaine heard the bathroom door close. He let out a silent breath of relief and turned around just to be sure that he was really alone before he let the towel drop to the floor. He quickly changed into his clothes, vowing not to forget to at least take his underwear with him into the bathroom tomorrow.

It took Kurt close to 90 minutes before he was even remotely ready to go. Blaine had to bite down on a giggle when Kurt had emerged in a fluffy bathrobe halfway through his estimated time, cheeks aflame while he went over to the dresser to get his own set of clothes before closing the bathroom door again. For the most part though, it was rather boring for Blaine to wait around for Kurt to come out so they could leave, but he’d been friends with him long enough by now to be prepared. He straightened the bed, put the clothes from the day before in a specially designated bag in his suitcase and then sat down in one of the chairs to read. Normally he would’ve made notes for song ideas but it was easy to get lost in the creative process and he’d rather not stop in the middle of something when Kurt came to get him. He'd learned that lesson the hard way several years ago.

After Kurt was done with his skin care, had done up his hair and deemed Blaine's outfit worthy enough to be seen with in public, they left their room and walked the few blocks down to a coffee shop called ‘Lima Bean’.

"I can't believe I've spent most of my adolescence in here," Kurt mumbled when they entered, looking around the coffee shop as if seeing it with new eyes. Maybe he was. Things changed in eight years, especially when you weren't there to see the changes happening.

"Well, so long as the coffee is still strong and the prices reasonable, I don't think we'll find a better place to have breakfast in," Blaine said, nodding to the cash register and the board with the offerings. Kurt rolled his eyes but followed him without protest.

They'd just sat down with their coffees and whole wheat bagels when the door opened and a woman shouted "Kurt!", making them both freeze up before turning their heads in that direction. Blaine had to blink at the ridiculously attractive Asian couple that made their way over to them, the tiny woman in the lead. A huge smile was plastered all over her face.

"Kurt, Kurt, Kurt, _Kurt_!" she babbled happily and opened her arms. Kurt stood up, a grin on his face, and closed his arms around her.

"Tina!"

"It's _so_ good to _see_ you," she laughed into his neck. "God, I've missed you!"

They swayed on the spot, both of them laughing and squeezing each other tight. Blaine had to bite back a soppy grin. He'd never seen Kurt so open and relaxed around anyone before. Or hug them quite this long and tight. He really must have had a very soft spot for Tina.

The woman's companion, who couldn't be anyone other than Mike, looked at his fiancée and shook his head, clearly as fond of her as Blaine was of Kurt. His gaze swept over them to Blaine, giving him a polite smile.

"Hi, I'm Mike," he introduced himself, holding out his hand for Blaine to shake. Blaine hastily got up from his seat and took the proffered hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Blaine."

"Kurt's boyfriend, yes!" Mike replied, his smile turning much warmer. Blaine was taken aback. Had Kurt told _everyone_ that Blaine was his boyfriend? Up until now Blaine had thought he'd only told the white lie to his dad to get him to back off.

"Rachel told us that you and Kurt have been dating for a while now," Mike continued. "I hope you don't mind getting to meet everyone at once. We can be a bit much at times."

So Kurt had told Rachel they were together? As far as Blaine knew, they talked maybe once every three months. Had she been nagging him as much as his dad that Kurt thought lying to her would be a good idea? He definitely needed to have another talk with Kurt about keeping things from him.

Kurt and Tina finally let go of each other, still smiling brightly. Then Tina's gaze met Blaine's and her smile turned oddly gentle. "Hello, you must be Blaine."

Blaine took her hand and shook it, returning her smile while his gaze met Kurt's over her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at him and Kurt winced. At least he knew Blaine had to pick a bone with him later.

"I'm so glad you both could make it," Tina said, letting him go. "It wouldn't have been the same without everyone around to celebrate. I can't wait to see everyone again!"

"Who are we still waiting for to arrive?" Kurt asked, sliding back into his seat with Blaine doing the same.

Tina looked at Mike and they seemed to communicate with their eyes only before Mike said, "Santana's supposed to arrive around four from Chicago, and Quinn should have arrived a couple hours ago. As soon as they're here the old gang will be complete."

"When did you two get in?" Blaine asked, looking up at them.

Tina grimaced. "On Wednesday, and believe me, I wish we hadn't come out so soon. We should've flown in with Rachel yesterday."

"Hey, let's get some coffee and something to eat before we continue this, okay?" Mike interrupted her, taking her elbow gently to steer her over to the cashier. Tina smiled at him and then at Blaine and Kurt. "We'll be right back!"

Blaine watched them go and waited for them to place their orders before he looked pointedly at Kurt over the table. "You forgot to mention that you told Rachel we're together."

Kurt sighed, starting to pick at his bagel. "It's just that she can be worse than a mother hen and I wanted her to back off."

"So you told her the same lie as you told your dad."

"At least I'm consistent?" he tried to make fun of it. Blaine just gave him an unimpressed stare.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I should have told you," Kurt said, taking Blaine's hand and entwining their fingers.

A weird sensation crept over Blaine, something that closely resembled hurt. “You didn't ask me to play your boyfriend because you trust me,” he said, not looking at Kurt. “You asked me because you didn't have a choice. You'd already told everyone that I am your boyfriend.”

“Blaine,” Kurt said, sounding a little weird. Blaine still didn't look at him, the hurt weighing down on his chest like a stone. “Blaine, look at me, please?”

He took a deep breath, then raised his eyes and met Kurt's concerned look. “I _do_ trust you. More than anyone besides my dad. I would've asked you no matter what. I just... I panicked when they first started asking me for a name. I should've told you, and I'm sorry I didn't.”

"You know," Blaine said quietly, avoiding Kurt's gaze and instead looking at their entwined fingers. He watched his own thumb stroke over Kurt's knuckles, not quite sure when he'd started doing that. "I'm beginning to worry about all the things you _haven't_ told me lately." He paused, hyper aware that the mood had turned extremely serious. He looked back up into Kurt's face. "What happened to us always being honest with each other?"

Kurt swallowed, his gaze dropping to the table top. "I _am_ honest with you, Blaine," he said after a moment. "It's this whole ridiculous lie that's skewed my perspective on things. There's a reason I never lie. I can never keep the stories straight in my head and everything gets so complicated so fast and... I really am sorry for making you feel like I'm not honest with you."

Blaine took a deep breath, swallowing down his feeling of being hurt by Kurt's secrecy. It wasn't like he wasn't holding some things back from Kurt as well. He couldn't exactly throw the first stone here. He sighed, squeezed Kurt's hand and asked, only half joking, "Are there any more secrets I should prepare myself for?"

Before Kurt could answer, Mike and Tina came back and slid into the two seats left at their table.

"You two looked serious there for a moment," Tina said in greeting, putting her muffin down. "Everything okay?"

"Just me being stupid," Kurt said, giving her a small smile before disentangling his hand from Blaine's and reaching for his bagel.

"Well, we can't have that," Tina said resolutely, starting to peel her muffin out of its wrapper. "So, tell me about that role you've landed. Is it everything you wished for?"

Kurt grimaced, but then dutifully told her everything about the part he'd been cast for. It wasn't much, at least not compared to the big plans Kurt had been having all his life, but it was a start. It wasn't even a musical, but it _was_ theater which meant getting stage experience, and that was almost half the battle in this business.

"But enough about me and New York's theater snobs," he cut the conversation short. "What about you two? Last I heard Mike was dancing his way through L.A.'s music industry list."

Mike laughed, then shook his head. "I've been dancing in some music videos, that's all."

"Don't be so modest, honey," Tina said, patting his arm. "Mike has been cast for a dance movie."

"Oh my god, that's incredible!" Kurt exclaimed, clearly startled but also pleased. Blaine couldn't help but smile at the sheer joy on Kurt's face.

"Congratulations, Mike," Blaine said for lack of anything better to say. Mike just grinned at them both and then put an arm over Tina's shoulder.

"Tina is holding back. She's also been cast for a movie."

"It's an independent low-budget thing," she interrupted before either of them could say anything to the news. "So don't get your hopes up about big galas and all that."

"So L.A. has been treating you two okay, then?" Kurt asked, nipping on his coffee to mask the wistful smile on his lips. Blaine saw it nonetheless and frowned, giving Kurt a curious look which he ignored.

"All three of us, actually," Tina amended, then grimaced. "I know you wanted Rachel to come with you to New York, Kurt, but I think she was better off in L.A. in the end."

"I know. I’m happy she was successful," Kurt assured them. "It's just..."

He'd been lonely in New York, all on his own. Blaine figured that out about a year after they'd become best friends. Seeing Kurt interact with his old friends now only confirmed what he'd known all along: Kurt didn't make friends lightly, and he hadn't connected with anyone in New York the way he had with his high school friends. Or Blaine, for that matter. He was ever so grateful that he and Kurt had actually _made_ it to being real friends. Blaine still wasn't quite sure why Kurt had picked him to open up to, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

"Speaking of which," Blaine interrupted before either Mike or Tina could ask further questions about what Kurt wasn't saying. "How many of you are there going to be tonight?"

Kurt gave him a pathetically grateful look for changing the subject. Something warm blossomed in Blaine's chest at that and he shot him a tiny grin. When his gaze came back to Tina, he saw a private smile on her face that vanished as soon as she realized that she had Blaine's attention.

"Well, there's the four of us, of course," she started, counting off on her fingers. "Then Rachel and Finn."

"Hopefully without the drama," Kurt muttered and received a commiserating glance from Mike.

"Rachel promised, and it's been four years now since they broke up for good so we should be in the clear. Anyway, then there's Artie, Brittany and Santana. Sam can make it after all, he wasn't sure until two weeks ago. Mercedes, of course. She just finished her show in Las Vegas and wanted to make a holiday out of it. She’s been here since Friday.”

Tina paused, looking at Mike for a second and frowning before her face cleared and she added, “Then there's Puck and Quinn, and Sugar might make an appearance if her husband can be reassured that he won't accidentally kill their little girl if he spends a night with her alone."

"Sugar's a mom?" Kurt asked, clearly surprised.

Tina grinned and nodded. "Oh yes. Two months this week. She's an adorable little darling."

"Travis, my best man, is coming in tomorrow. He had a work engagement that he couldn't reschedule," Mike added, then looked at Blaine to clarify, "He's not actually a former member of our Glee club. I met him through L.A.'s dance scene. He's a really great guy, you'll like him!"

Blaine nodded. "So it's, what, thirteen people in total?"

"That's about it."

"And I'm the only significant other attending?"

He only received amused glances and a nod from Tina. His brow furrowed. "But why am I the only one?"

"Duh," Tina said, grinning mischievously. "You're dating Kurt. This is, like, mandatory group hazing. We want to know _all_ about you."

"Oh god, I just hope we can suspend the drama for one evening," Kurt said again, exchanging an alarmed glance with Tina who giggled.

"Admit it, Kurt, it wouldn't be Glee club if there wasn't at least a little drama."

Kurt seemed to think about it before he shrugged. "True enough." His gaze met Blaine's. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure you'll survive."

It was heart warming that Kurt seemed so sure about that, because Blaine? Wasn't reassured at all.


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh my god, this is like junior year all over again!" Kurt exclaimed when they came to a stop in front of an elegant house in the suburbs. Blaine could read "L & H Berry" on the nameplate under the bell and wondered if the owners were related to Rachel somehow when someone behind them said, "Hopefully you won't have to kiss Rachel this time around."

Blaine turned almost in sync with Kurt and came face to face with a tall guy built like a brick wall. "Puck!" Kurt exclaimed next to him, and Blaine finally had a face to the name that'd been floating around conversation since this morning.

"Kurt, my man!" Puck said with a grin and pulled Kurt into one of these manly bro-hugs that Blaine found ridiculous.

"You got bald," Kurt said when they let go, then bit his lip as if he hadn't planned to say that out loud.

Puck just smirked. "And you got yourself a midget."

It took Blaine embarrassingly long to realize that _he_ was the midget. Kurt's offended "Hey!" on his behalf warmed him, really, but this was hardly the most offensive thing he'd ever heard, and he _was_ rather short.

"Don't worry, Kurt, I've heard worse," he said, sizing Puck up who seemed to be intrigued by that. He was sizing Blaine up in return before he held out a hand. "The name's Puck."

"Blaine."

A knowing glint appeared in Puck's eyes and Blaine did a mental sigh. Of course he'd heard of Blaine. By now people on the moon had probably heard that Blaine Anderson was Kurt Hummel's boyfriend.

“No, but really,” Kurt interrupted their staring contest. “You’re bald.”

“It’s the genes, Hummel. Nothing you can do about it,” Puck shrugged.

Kurt didn’t seem able to shut up about it. “But you’re Jewish!”

Puck blinked at him, and so did Blaine because, _what the hell?_ Kurt did not just say that!

A delighted grin blossomed on Puck’s face and he slung an arm over Kurt’s shoulder. “That was the most offensive thing you’ve ever said to me. I’m hurt, dude!” He didn’t look hurt. If anything, he looked almost proud of Kurt who’d gone a shade of red that alarmed Blaine.

“I didn’t mean-” he started but Puck interrupted him. “Ah, ah, ah, no taking it back. Own it, Hummel. _Own it_!”

“Will you three ever come in?”

They all turned as one at the voice behind them. In the now open doorway stood none other than Rachel Berry, looking exasperated and a little fond while she stared at each of them in turn.

Puck’s delighted grin turned up another notch. “Rachel!” he boomed. “Hummel called me a Jew!”

Rachel blinked at him, clearly surprised by that non-sequitur, before slowly saying, “I hate to break it to you, Noah, but you _are_ of Jewish descent.”

Puck waved her answer away. “Not like that. He meant it all offensive and shit.” He let go of Kurt’s shoulder and enveloped Rachel in an enthusiastic hug. She shrieked when he lifted her plain off her feet, beating his shoulder while she demanded in a high voice that he let her down _this instant or so help her God_! He just laughed, but put her down and then pressed an almost chaste kiss to her cheek.

“Good to see you, Berry.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly but she smiled fondly at him. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“I hope your parties _have_ ,” Puck volleyed back, pointing over his shoulder with a thumb. "If not, I've got supplies in my car." Then he slipped past her into the house without any further invitation. Rachel looked after him, then sighed and turned back around to them.

“Well,” she said, smiling at them, “Welcome to the monkey house. You might as well come in too.”

Blaine looked at Kurt, leaning over to whisper, “Is it always like that?”

Kurt couldn’t help but snort. “Oh, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” he whispered back before entering Rachel’s house.

Blaine had the sudden urge to turn around right now and run away as fast as he could.

* * *

“Okay, let’s make this quick before Mike and Tina arrive,” Rachel said loudly, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. Blaine, who had found a seat on a comfortable couch with Kurt sitting right next to him on the arm rest, looked at her and then the rest of the people gathered in the basement room. Nobody seemed to pay her much attention and Blaine felt a bit sorry for her, but then she turned and walked over to - oh my god, was that a _stage_? Turned out it was, complete with a microphone which she switched on and then repeated, “Hello, may I have your attention please?”

People fell silent mostly because of the ricochet she’d produced, but she smiled as if she hadn’t noticed. “Perfect. Now. About the song selection we want to sing for Mike and Tina.”

“You will _not_ make me sing the whole day at a wedding I was _invited_ to, Berry,” a Latino woman said. She looked fierce with her pixy haircut and dark eye make up.

"That wasn't my intention at all, Santana, but thank you for your input," Rachel said, not intimidated in the slightest. Blaine chanced another look at the Latino woman. So that was Santana? Well, at least he was pretty sure he'd be able to remember her name. He wasn't quite so sure he would be able to keep everyone else's straight in his head. There were just so many of them and nobody had bothered to introduce themselves.

"I thought you've already made the decision which songs we'll sing?" a black woman asked. Blaine assumed it was Mercedes. She certainly fit the picture of 'a diva larger than life itself and owning the shit out of it'. Kurt's words, of course.

Rachel, who had thankfully put down the mic, just smiled. "Of course I have, but I wanted to put it up for debate."

"Since when are you a fan of democracy when it comes to singing?"

Blaine couldn't see who had asked that question but whoever it was, it wasn't very nice. Was that how these people had interacted with each other in high school?

Rachel didn't seem offended, at least not outwardly. She just squared her shoulders and said, "I assure you that I've always been of the opinion that there should be more democracy in song choices. You know how often I put my head on a plate for you guys when Mr. Schuester wanted to do yet another abhorrent song choice for our competitions."

"Fair enough," Puck mumbled around a bottle of beer. "Can we move on now? I'd rather not spend all night on debating this shit."

"Thank you, Noah," Rachel said, smiling at him. He just shrugged and took another sip of his beer.

"I'm not sure which songs are on your list, Rachel, but I think 'Marry You' is a good number," a blond woman chimed in with a soft voice. She looked at Kurt and smiled at him. "It was certainly a good luck charm for Kurt's dad and Finn's mom."

Everyone's gaze landed on Kurt, Blaine's included, as if they were waiting for his approval or dismissal. Kurt just shrugged and lowered his head, smiling a little. Blaine couldn't help the hitch in his breath whenever Kurt looked like that: all vulnerable and yet so beautiful at the same time. Without thinking about it, he reached out his hand and squeezed Kurt's knee briefly. His head turned so he could look at Blaine, then his small smile turned into something real.

"I have no objections to that," he said after a moment, looking back over to the blonde woman who had suggested it in the first place. "It's a good suggestion, Quinn."

Ah, so that was Quinn. When Kurt had talked briefly about his friends, he hadn't given a physical description of them, only character traits and snippets of what they'd been through together. Blaine had to admit that in his head he'd pictured her differently. Fiercer, somehow, and maybe taller. Not this fragile looking person who could easily win a beauty pageant if she so chose. It didn't mix with the strong person Kurt had described to him, and it certainly didn't mix with the picture Blaine had always had of lawyers.

Then again, looks could be deceiving, and apparently Quinn had overcome not only a teen pregnancy and the resulting adoption process, but also a severe car accident that had left her paralyzed for a while. This woman was not to be trifled with, that was for sure.

"The song _was_ actually on my list, but I wanted to run it by Kurt first before putting it up for a vote," Rachel said, producing a piece of paper from somewhere.

"Man, can we just cut this voting bullshit?" Puck piped up yet again, exchanging a quick glance with Finn and two other guys. "Just read them out loud and we'll say yea or nay."

"Have you been watching C-SPAN again because you couldn't find the remote to change the channel?" Kurt asked, voice deadpan. Blaine gaped at him because, what? He knew that Kurt was sarcastic by nature but since when was he so politically incorrect? And to his friends no less?

But Puck, just like before, only grinned at Kurt. "Sassy, Hummel. I like it. You going to call me a Jew again?"

"In your dreams, Puckerman."

Puck gave him an air kiss, then winked at Blaine, who blinked back in confusion. What was going on here?

Rachel sighed deeply, looking around the room and, after judging their faces, seemed to think it best to go with Puck's suggestion.

"Okay, let's do this before the happy couple arrives. 'Marry You' is a definite yes, I assume?" When she received a round of nods, she continued with her list, smiling privately whenever a song was approved that obviously meant something to her or pouting slightly when one didn't get picked. They were down to five songs in the end when Kurt raised his hand and said, "I have it on good authority that Tina and Mike want their first dance to be Etta James' 'At Last'." He paused, looking at everyone in turn before saying, "I'd like to propose that we sing it for them."

Acquiescing murmurs could be heard. Then Santana said, "But that's _it_ with the singing. I want to eat and dance and get drunk at one point. I'm not the hired band for this party."

"That will be all, I promise," Rachel said. "We just have to figure out which song we should sing before their vows and which right after they've got married."

"Well, the Bruno Mars one is a no brainer," Finn said, getting affirmative nods. "Not to be repetitive or something but it worked for our parents." His gaze found Kurt's and they shared a private grin.

Blaine was blindsided by the sudden wish of wanting to be a part of that family. It was so sharp that he felt like he was stabbed for a moment. He bit down on the surprised gasp before it could escape.

"Oh, hey, will you sing with us, Blaine?" Finn asked, startling Blaine a little when his gaze suddenly landed on him.

" _Can_ he even sing?" Santana asked with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

Kurt scowled at her. "Of _course_ he can sing. Quite beautifully too."

Blaine couldn't help the pleased little smile escaping him at Kurt's words, which only made Rachel look misty-eyed at them both. "Well, I have no objections either way," she declared. "What about the rest?"

Everyone murmured their assent, and Kurt squeezed Blaine's shoulder to reassure him that everything would be fine. Still, Blaine was a little concerned that nobody really seemed to be interested in finding out if he _wanted_ to join them. Not that he wouldn't because it meant he would get the chance to perform, but it was the principle of the thing, really.

Before he could voice any objections, their little party was interrupted when the door to the basement opened and Tina announced loudly, "We're here, guys!"

Rachel made hilarious shushing motions which were largely ignored in favor of almost everyone getting up from their seats and descending on Mike and Tina as soon as they set foot on the ground. Everyone laughed and exchanged hugs and kisses, talking animatedly for several minutes.

"Your dads let us in," Tina explained to Rachel when she hugged her. "They didn't think you'd mind."

"Of course not, it's their house."

"So!" Tina said after she'd settled herself on a cushion in front of Mike, leaning back against his legs with his hand on her shoulder. "We hope you haven't started without us."

"Started with what?" Rachel asked, feigning innocence.

Tina's gaze found Blaine's immediately and an almost evil glint appeared in her eyes. Blaine shrank back into the couch instinctively.

"The interrogation, of course."

If Kurt's immediate groan right next to him wouldn't have given him a clue that this was going to be bad, the attention and evil smiles suddenly directed at Blaine would've been a dead give away that the next foreseeable future didn't bode well for him. He rather bemoaned the missed opportunity from earlier to run away when he still had the chance.

"Guys? Please be gentle?" Kurt pleaded, putting a hand on Blaine's shoulder again and squeezing it. Blaine couldn't help but give him a thankful gaze and a brief smile before he looked back at the others. Squaring his shoulders and thinking briefly that if he'd survived Mr. Hummel, this would be a piece of cake, he met their eyes with a determined look.

"So we should hold out on the sex questions for now?" Puck asked, waggling his eyebrows.

'Okay, maybe not', Blaine thought faintly, his gaze turning into a look of horror.

"I don't see how those questions are _ever_ in any way suitable for _any_ conversation," Kurt said, staring Puck down.

"That's because you're a prude, Hummel," Santana said, smirking at him. "And here I thought New York has loosened you up a little."

Blaine felt Kurt bristle next to him and, to prevent an all out cat fight, he straightened up, threw a general glance at the crowd and asked, "So what do you guys want to know?"

It became eerily silent after that and Blaine had the horrible feeling he'd set himself up for a trap, but then the guy in the wheelchair whistled through his teeth and nodded. "You're brave, my man. Stupid, but brave."

And then the questions rained down on him:

"How old are you?"

"How did you meet Kurt?"

"When did you realize that you're gay?"

"Any police records we should be aware of?"

"What's your favorite character from a TV show?"

Everyone paused when the blond woman that wasn't Quinn asked that question.

"How is that relevant to this discussion, Brit?" Rachel asked, earning herself a glare from Santana.

"And shouldn't you guys, oh I don't know, give Blaine a chance to answer any of these questions?" Kurt added, voice dripping with sarcasm. Blaine patted his knee to calm him down. To be honest, he was starting to enjoy this bunch of complete lunatics.

"25, at NYADA, when I was twelve but I didn't come out until I was fourteen, no I don't, and Tom Levitt from _Smash_ ," he answered without even blinking. And stunned everyone into silence once again, apparently. "But before we continue with this 'interrogation', could you guys do me a favor? _Please_ tell me your names?"

"You mean Hummel didn't gush about us at length? I think I'm hurt," Puck said, feigning a shot to the chest. 

Kurt just raised an eyebrow. "Again? How often do you plan to be hurt by my words tonight?"

"As many times as you wound me."

Kurt snorted when Puck exchanged a fist bump with Finn at that.

"I'm Quinn."

Blaine looked over at the blond woman sitting across from him and nodded in thanks for her making a start with the introductions. "I assume you know Mike and Tina already?"

Blaine smiled when he saw the couple waving at him and nodded again. "Yes, we've met. So have Finn and I," he added.

Quinn nodded, then pointed at each of the assembled former members of the Glee club. "The one in the wheelchair next to Mike is Artie."

"Yo," he greeted, saluting Blaine.

"Then there's Sam, and Finn, of course." He waved at Blaine, giving him a dorky thumbs up that made Blaine grin in return.

Quinn continued, pointing at each member and giving their names. When it was Puck's turn, he saluted Blaine with his beer bottle, making him smile despite himself.

After she'd pointed everyone out, Quinn came to a close with a mischievous grin and said, "And you know Kurt, of course."

"I _think_ we've met," he said, looking contemplatively at Kurt who rolled his eyes at Blaine but couldn't help a small smile. Blaine nudged him with his shoulder briefly, giving him a grin and a wink before he brought his attention back to the group. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Oh god, you found a _polite_ one," Santana groaned, raising a brow at Kurt. "Didn't think you're into the vertically challenged ones though."

"Oh my god, shut up Santana!" Kurt hissed, his cheeks turning red.

"Okay, let's start the fun part of this evening and get drunk," Puck exclaimed, leaning over his chair and producing a cooler full of beer and a couple of bottles of unidentified origin. Blaine assumed they were the earlier mentioned supplies from his car, but god only knew how he'd gotten them inside without anyone noticing him doing so. Apparently nobody seemed to care. If anything, they seemed to agree with him. They got out plastic cups, with Rachel also getting out wine coolers and sodas.

The evening was full of banter and lively conversation. Blaine had a rather in-depth discussion with Artie about at risk youths. It turned out that he’d become a social worker after school, having found a passion to be the voice for kids whose voices were continuously ignored.

“Don’t get me wrong, man,” he said to Blaine. “I miss directing stage plays, but in the grand scheme of things, I think I’m better at raising hell in some state departments. And it’s not that different to herding a bunch of nervous actors over the stage.”

Blaine, who’d had his fair share of interacting with lunatic actors, grinned at him and saluted him with a beer. “I’ll drink to that.”

He had a few other conversations with the people in the room, most of them superficial in nature. But he had to admit that he got along quite well with them all, even though Santana was scary and Brittany was downright _weird_. It was quite a bit later when Blaine was cornered at the drinks table by Mercedes. She leaned against the wall, sipped on her bottle of beer and gave him a speculative look. Blaine, who was still a little twitchy about eventually recurring interrogations, gave her a nervous smile.

"Hi," he said, just to say _something_. She just raised an eyebrow at him, not saying anything in return. "Okay then," he mumbled quietly under his breath, snagging a wine cooler for himself and Kurt. Before he could escape though, Mercedes straightened up from the wall and asked, "So you going to break my boy's heart?"

Blaine almost dropped the bottles at her accusation. He looked probably as startled as he felt, but he tried to hide it as best as he could. He doubted he was very successful, though. "I... wasn't planning on it?" he hedged, trying to find Kurt over her shoulder without any luck.

"Don't get me wrong," she said, giving him another once over that didn't put Blaine at ease in the slightest. "You're cute and everything but I don't know you and my boy's been through enough in his life that he doesn't need more shit piled up on him."

Her gaze was piercing and Blaine tried to mask his growing anxiety. Rationally, he knew that Mercedes was just a lounge singer in Las Vegas, albeit a rather successful one with quite a few connections. Still, her eyes made him shiver in nameless terror.

"I promise," he said, clutching the bottles to his chest. "I would never, _never_ intentionally hurt Kurt. And if I did it accidentally? I would instantly try to make it better."

Her gaze turned speculative at that and she nipped at her bottle, all casual and as if she didn't have a care in the world. At last, she nodded and Blaine relaxed.

"Okay, I'll believe you for now. But don't forget," she added, leaning closer with a glint in her eyes. "If you hurt him irreparably, you will regret the day you were born."

Blaine swallowed hard and tried to stamp down on the panic welling up in his throat, but he managed to nod to let her know he understood completely. She smiled, raised her bottle in a salute and sauntered off. Blaine's hands shook and he let out a deep, calming breath before he made his way back over to the couch and the safety that was Kurt.

Okay, scratch that. Santana was _nothing_ in comparison to Mercedes.

Several hours, many anecdotes, a lot of laughter and quite a few drinks later, Blaine had all but forgotten Mercedes' threats and was lounging in the corner of the couch, pleasantly buzzed and lazily stroking through Kurt's hair. Kurt was lying outstretched on the couch with his head cushioned in Blaine's lap, his arm wound around one of Blaine's legs with his hand stroking up and down his calf. The conversations around them jumped from one topic to the next and Blaine had just closed his eyes when someone from his right said, "So have you two stood on stage together yet?"

Blaine blinked, trying to focus on the speaker until they resolved into Sam. Blaine frowned before shaking his head. "We're not even working for the same theater company," he explained, still stroking Kurt's hair. "I'm not actually on stage all that much to begin with. When I got hired they hired me to write them songs."

"So you're a composer?" Rachel asked, apparently drawn into the conversation by the topic change.

Blaine shrugged. "I guess. I never really saw myself as one, it's not what I was trained to do."

"But you're doing it anyway and you're damn good at it," Kurt mumbled from his lap, not even opening his eyes or stopping his affections. If anything, he strained against Blaine's hand when he stopped petting Kurt's hair. Blaine bit back a grin and resumed his caresses.

Puck looked at them, something calculating in his eyes. After a sip from his who-knew-how-many bottle of beer, he asked, "So have you written any songs for Hummel yet?"

"No," said Kurt at the same time Blaine said, "Yes, I have."

That got Kurt's attention. He froze and his eyes snapped open. His gaze was soft and surprised when he stared up at Blaine. "You have?" he asked, quiet and trying not to sound pleased. But Blaine knew him too well and could tell anyway.

"Of course I have," he answered equally quiet, stroking over Kurt's forehead. "Have you heard yourself sing? It wasn't even hard to write something for you."

They stared at each other, with Kurt smiling shyly up at Blaine. He forgot completely that they still had company, so drawn was he by Kurt's intense gaze and the oddly mesmerizing blue of his eyes. And there was something in there, some unnamed emotion and if Blaine could look just a little bit longer he might be able to...

"Oh god, it's almost disgusting how cute you two are!"

The words were like a bucket of ice water. Blaine's eyes snapped up to Puck who was shaking his head at them. "I'm serious, you're giving me a tooth ache."

"I think it's adorable," Rachel said, ever the faithful friend. "And I think they should be able to express their love for each other in any way, whenever and wherever they want."

"Thank you for that after school special, Rachel," Kurt said with an odd undertone and sat up on the couch. His cheeks were aflame and his posture rigid. Blaine wanted to put an arm around him, or maybe pull him back down and pet his hair a bit more, but Kurt was telegraphing his discomfort loud and clear so Blaine let him be.

"Awww, look what you've done, Puckerman. Now he's embarrassed," Santana said, grinning evilly. "Haven't you heard? You don't embarrass people in front of their significant others."

"Hey, if I really wanted to embarrass him I could tell Blaine about the crushes Kurt had on Finn and Sam. Now, _those_ were embarrassing."

"Oh my god, stop _talking_!" Kurt shouted, looking horrified. "I was in high school!"

Blaine felt equally as horrified on Kurt's behalf. He certainly had had his fair share of inappropriate crushes while he was a teenager, but he'd never been humiliated in front of his friends for it. Making a split decision, Blaine looked both boys over and said to Kurt, "If it makes you feel any better, I can see why." He paused for effect before he added, "Well, in Sam's case anyway."

"Thanks, man," Sam said, grinning at him and taking a swig from his beer while Finn actually looked a little offended.

Kurt had turned his head to look at him, giving him a strange look before his lips twitched. "I know, right?" he said, and Blaine flat out grinned because _seriously_ , who had lips like that?

Then he remembered something from several hours ago. Giving Kurt a mischievous smile he asked the group, "So what's the story behind Kurt kissing Rachel?"

Kurt groaned and fell back into Blaine while everyone else laughed and told them about a very traumatizing game of _Spin the Bottle_ in their junior year. Somehow the conversation veered into the territory of embarrassing and rather personal questions from there, everyone trying to get the scoop on everyone else's love lives. Blaine was glad that they had apparently forgotten about him in the process.

Of course, that was the moment Puck leaned forward and asked him, "When did you realize you wanted to fuck Hummel here senseless?"

"Uhm." Blaine blinked, lost for words. Kurt next to him wasn't quite as challenged in that department.

"For fuck's sake, Puckerman, he doesn't have to answer that!" He turned and looked at Blaine, his blue eyes big and concerned. "You don't have to answer that, Blaine, seriously."

Blaine stared at Kurt, at his flushed cheeks and his red lips that looked so inviting. Later he would blame it on the alcohol but really, he wasn't sure _what_ possessed him to look at Puck and say, "Pretty much from the minute we met."

There was a very heavy silence for a moment or two before Santana and Puck whooped and cackled while Finn bemoaned that he would _never_ get that mental image out of his head now. The girls mostly grinned and waggled their eyebrows at him.

And Kurt? Well, Kurt looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. He was probably trying to figure out if Blaine had been serious or was just putting on an act for his friends. Only Blaine knew that his answer had been one hundred percent the truth, and it scared him a little how easily it had slipped out.

After a moment, Kurt seemed to have come to a conclusion in his head. His gaze softened and he took Blaine's hand, pulling them together until their shoulders touched. For the rest of the night, he didn't relent his place, cuddling up to Blaine and listening to his friends while stroking absently over Blaine's arm and hand.

The later it got, the more Blaine was convinced that he had a whole new set of problems, and all of them revolved around Kurt.


	7. Chapter 7

Waking up the next morning wasn't the most pleasant thing Blaine had ever experienced. He didn't really have a hangover, but he was dehydrated and everything was fuzzy, and he'd rather have stuck his head under a pillow than face the light in the room. On the other hand, he could feel Kurt's body warm and pleasantly heavy next to him, an arm slung around Blaine's waist and Kurt's breath fanning over Blaine's cheek. He turned his head slightly and opened one eye. His other eye opened as well when what he saw almost took his breath away.

Kurt was beautiful when he slept.

Granted, Kurt was always beautiful, but most of the time he was in motion and didn't give Blaine a chance to really, truly look at him and appreciate his beauty. But now, with Kurt still fast asleep, Blaine couldn't help but stare at his best friend.

Kurt's brown hair was in wild disarray and gave him an almost boyish charm. Blaine only ever saw him meticulously styled, so the break in routine was terribly endearing. The slight flush on Kurt's cheeks and his eyelashes throwing a mild shadow over them only highlighted the graceful arc of his cheekbones. And his lips, closed in sleep, were red and lush and Blaine wanted to touch them and kiss them, taste them. Claim them.

God, he was still drunk. He had to be, or his libido wouldn't run away with him like that. Blaine squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before he opened them again, looking appreciatively at Kurt. Nothing had changed. He was still beautiful and Blaine still wanted to kiss him.

He puffed out a breath and buried his face in the pillow, but otherwise he didn't move. If anything, he shuffled closer and pressed his side against Kurt's chest. He couldn't help a small smile when Kurt's arm tightened on his waist. It was still early and Blaine really didn't have any brain capacity right now to attempt getting up, so he closed his eyes, let out a deep breath and drifted back to sleep.

When he woke up for the second time, the light in the room was brighter and Kurt was gone. His head shot up from the pillow and he blinked owlishly at the empty spot next to him, confused where Kurt had gone off to when he'd just been here a moment ago.

It was then he heard the faint rattling of small glass containers from the bathroom and sank back down with a sigh. So Kurt had apparently woken up at one point and found more motivation in himself to get up than Blaine had been able to muster. He groaned into the pillow and pulled the comforter over his head. No, getting up was a very, very bad idea right now. Or ever.

The choice was taken out of his hand when he heard Kurt's quiet footsteps coming closer, then the bed dipped and the comforter was pulled off of him. Blaine made a pitiful noise and pulled the pillow over his head instead. That only made Kurt laugh.

"Time to get up," he said overly bright, giving Blaine's ass a hearty slap.

Blaine shot up in bed and rolled over, glaring at Kurt. "What was that for?"

Kurt just smirked at him. "It got you up, didn't it?"

"You're mean," Blaine pouted, sitting up in the middle of the bed and running a hand through his disheveled hair. "You're mean and I don't like you."

"You're cranky because you're dehydrated," Kurt responded, leaning over to the nightstand and grabbing a glass of water. He held it out for Blaine who looked at it, then took it and gave Kurt a small, grateful smile.

"I still don't want to get up," he said after he'd finished off the water but Kurt just rolled his eyes at him and turned around.

"You'll feel better as soon as you've had something to eat and some fresh air," he said, straightening up the room a bit by picking up Blaine's clothes from yesterday. He wasn't sure why Kurt even bothered – it wasn't like Blaine couldn't do it himself – but he assumed Kurt needed something to do so he let him be.

"Can't I just stay here instead?" Blaine asked, eyeing the oh-so comfortable bed, but Kurt's answer was to throw a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt at his head. Blaine glared at him.

"Fine! I'm up, I'm up," he said, rolling out of bed. "You happy now?"

"Thrilled," Kurt deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at him. "Besides, we already spent most of the morning in bed, it's almost noon and we should really go eat something before our blood sugar drops too much. We're going to need all the strength we have to survive this week."

Blaine had sort of lost track of what Kurt was saying after he'd told Blaine that _they had spent their morning in bed together_. The mental image of what that usually implied for Blaine when he did that with another man took him by surprise. He hastily held the clothes in front of himself to conceal the excited twitch his cock made in his underwear.

"Uhm... I'm going to go... shower," he stuttered, turning to head to the bathroom.

"Hey, don't forget these," Kurt said, making Blaine turn around in time to catch something Kurt threw at him from across the room. When he looked down at a pair of his black boxer briefs, Blaine's cheeks flushed crimson and he turned back around so fast he almost collided with the door frame of the bathroom.

"Thanks," he mumbled before he closed the door with a decisive click.

Half an hour later, Blaine was tying his shoes and asked, "So what's your plan for today that I can't spend it in bed, nursing my mild headache and doing absolutely nothing until the madness that's your friends catches up with us again?"

Kurt gave him an unimpressed stare before he checked his messenger bag, probably to make sure he had everything he might need. "You're a real comedian today, aren't you?"

"And yet, despite your better judgment, you adore me and can't live without me," Blaine shot back with a grin. Kurt seemed helpless against his own one at the words and tried to hide it by turning around and walking to the door. Blaine hastily grabbed his own bag and followed suit.

Kurt's plan, it turned out, was showing Blaine around Lima. Not that there was all that much to see, but some sort of inner curiosity seemed to drive Kurt to revisit old places of his childhood and teenage years. Blaine didn't really mind. Quite the contrary, actually, because for every new place they visited, Kurt had a story ready he told Blaine; stories about childhood friendships and silly fantasies, unbearable losses and unexpected gains; stories Kurt had never told him before.

It humbled Blaine sometimes how much Kurt trusted him with his feelings and his memories, and he always tried to give back as good as he got. Watching Kurt show him around his home town, seeing a softer and more wistful side of him, made Blaine's heart beat faster in his chest. He loved this new side of Kurt, and he had no idea how he was supposed to go back to being just his best friend after all this.

A part of him, one he didn't want to acknowledge just yet, already doubted that he ever _could_ put Kurt back into the column of 'just friends'. He didn't dare think about what exactly that meant for their future.

It was late afternoon when Kurt got a call from his dad, asking them if they were free for dinner tonight. Kurt shot Blaine a questioning glance and he just shrugged. It wasn't that he minded or anything, he quite liked Carole and had the suspicion that he could adore Mr. Hummel if he ever got the chance and didn't have to lie to him.

Kurt took his shoulder shrug as agreement and told his dad they would meet him at the garage so they could drive over together. Mr. Hummel apparently agreed and they ended the call.

"My dad's garage isn't that far from here," Kurt explained, putting away his phone. "I'd like to catch up with the guys there too, if it's alright with you?"

"Sure, no problem," Blaine assured him and they made their way over there.

The garage itself wasn't a surprise for Blaine per se. It looked like any other garage he'd ever been to, loud and greasy with guys in coveralls working on cars. What did surprise him was the obvious joy when they spotted Kurt coming in and Kurt's reaction to it.

They only refrained from slapping him on the back because their hands were greasy and they probably knew that Kurt would murder them if they ruined his jacket, but Blaine could clearly see that they wanted to hug him and Kurt couldn't help but smile at all of them, asking them questions about their families and their work. Most of the mechanical talk went completely over Blaine's head, but Kurt seemed to know exactly what the guys were talking about when they bitched about the recent increase of failing motor parts in the new Honda line and why the hell Americans couldn't buy American cars that worked in the first place.

"Anyway, I'm working on this _beautiful_ vintage baby but for the life of me I can't find a new carburetor for her," one guy said, shaking his head sadly. "You would love her elegant curves for sure, Kurt."

"Well, then. Show me," Kurt said, waving his hand invitingly. Then he seemed to remember Blaine and turned to him, giving him a sheepish smile. "Do you mind?"

"No, go on and be geeky," Blaine said, grinning. Kurt grinned right back, squeezed his arm briefly and vanished around a jacked up car. The other guys dispersed after that, starting to clean their hands on rags and talking quietly to each other. Blaine felt a bit awkward, standing around near the rolling gate without any real purpose or even all that much entitlement to be there in the first place.

"Hey, Blaine."

Mr. Hummel's voice startled him and he turned quickly, seeing him emerge from behind a glass window front which was probably the office area. He was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, baseball cap on his head and clearly ready to go. "Hey, Mr. Hummel," he greeted back, waving shortly and feeling stupid the next second.

Mr. Hummel's lips twitched but he didn't say anything about the dorky little wave. Instead he looked around the garage and asked, "Where'd you leave Kurt?"

"Oh, he... uhm...," Blaine stuttered, waving vaguely to the back of the garage, "He went with one of your guys who wanted to show him a vintage car?"

Mr. Hummel's face cleared instantly. "Ah, yes. The 1970 Corvette. Beautiful car."

Blaine tried to keep the grimace off his face. "I... uhm... don't really know much about cars," he admitted sheepishly. "So long as they run and get me places that's all I need to know."

Mr. Hummel raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, lucky for you, you have Kurt around for the mechanical stuff. He can change you a tire in under ten minutes."

Blaine tried not to imagine Kurt, with grease on his cheek, arm muscles bulging while he heaved around a spare tire, but failed miserably and tried to play over his mortification of thinking about his son in that way _right in front of Mr. Hummel_ by smiling politely at him. "That's true, I suppose. If either of us really could afford a car."

"Guess you don't really need it much in the big city anyway, huh?" Mr. Hummel conceded, fiddling with his baseball cap.

"No, sir."

Mr. Hummel nodded, then looked over Blaine's shoulder and his face lit up. Blaine turned and saw Kurt approaching, deep in conversation with the guy who'd whisked him away in the first place. He couldn't help the fond smile that appeared on his face at the sight of Kurt being totally engrossed in a conversation about spare parts, clearly happy and carefree and still so fucking beautiful.

Blaine really, _really_ wanted to go over there and kiss the living daylights out of him.

Instead he bit his lip, put his hands in his pants pockets and reminded himself that Mr. Hummel was standing right next to him and might not appreciate him thinking about his son in that way, even though, technically, he thought Blaine was Kurt's boyfriend. Most fathers didn't want to see their kids being sexually active, and Blaine supposed that was doubly so when it came to gay sex.

Blaine's father certainly wasn't comfortable with public displays of affection between two guys.

"Hey, dad," Kurt greeted when he saw his dad standing next to Blaine.

"Hey kiddo," he grinned, pulling Kurt into a short hug before resting his arm over his shoulder. "I see you've met Dolores."

"Oh, she's a beauty," Kurt said instantly, lighting up like a Christmas tree and making it _really hard_ for Blaine to keep his resolve not to jump him. "Harvey already told me you've had trouble finding a carburetor. Have you tried the vintage shop over in Maryland yet?"

"Who d'you think you're talking to here?" Mr. Hummel said, almost as dry as Kurt sometimes was. Blaine couldn't help the grin tugging on his lips and he turned away a bit to hide it from the group. He really didn't want to offend Kurt's dad or anything by appearing like he was laughing at him.

"Fair point," Kurt said, sounding amused. Blaine looked back over. The carefree smile on Kurt's face took him slightly aback. He still wasn't used to how much more content Kurt seemed to get the longer they stayed here. From all of Kurt's stories about his high school time, Blaine had always assumed that he'd been miserable in Lima and couldn't wait to get out. But watching him now, interacting with his dad and his dad's employees or even his friends last night made Blaine question if Kurt even realized it himself, that he'd been happier than he'd thought and that he was missing it. Maybe not everything, but some parts for sure.

"You okay?"

Blaine was startled when Kurt's hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. His face looked concerned. Blaine nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Just... not a mechanic."

"Sorry about that," Kurt said, wincing a bit.

"No, no. Don't be. It was... adorable."

Kurt blinked at him, his brow furrowing a little. Blaine took his hand in his, entangling their fingers. "I mean it. I rarely see that geeky side of yours."

"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Not a chance," Blaine said, grinning widely. Mr. Hummel, clearing his throat meaningfully behind them, startled Blaine a little, but he didn't let go of Kurt's hand. If anything, he squeezed it tighter and almost jumped for joy when Kurt squeezed right back.

"Let's get going," Mr. Hummel said, putting one hand in his pocket. "Carole will be home in an hour and I want to at least get the preparations for dinner out of the way by then."

Kurt nodded to show he understood, then turned back to the garage and said goodbye to the rest of the guys. A chorus of goodbyes echoed back and Kurt smiled before he followed his dad out of the garage, Blaine's hand still clasped in his.

Blaine's heart hadn't stopped beating hard and fast ever since Kurt had squeezed his hand back.

* * *

Cooking with the Hummels was an experience Blaine never thought he'd get but was ever so grateful for. Kurt and his dad had an easy banter going on, born from years of familiarity and love and respect for each other. Both gave as good as they got and Blaine never, not even for a second, got the impression that either of them was out to harm the other one with their words. If anything, it confirmed to him what he'd already known: that Kurt and his dad had a special bond that nothing in this world would ever be able to break.

He envied Kurt a little bit for it.

Both Hummels were currently engaged in a snarky discussion over red meat versus white meat.

"For the millionth time now, dad," Kurt said, sounding exasperated. "Statistics clearly state that red meat is bad for people with heart problems."

"But red meat tastes so much better," Mr. Hummel grumbled, snatching up a piece of carrot and shoving it into his mouth.

Kurt sighed deeply. "Has the chicken killed you so far? No, it hasn't so you better shut up about it before I deem it necessary to draw a knife on you."

Mr. Hummel snorted. "Murdering me with a kitchen knife clearly makes this whole discussion about meat redundant, Kurt. If you're planning to kill me anyway you can at least give me red meat for dinner. It's clearly the better way to go."

Blaine grinned down at the vegetables he was cutting up for Kurt while he was listening to the two men bickering. He was the only one who heard the front door open and close so he wasn't surprised when Carole suddenly appeared at his side.

"They're at it again?" she asked, clearly amused. Apparently this was a familiar sight for her.

Blaine couldn't help a small chuckle escaping him and gave her a conspiratorial wink. "I don't think they're happy if they can't bicker with each other."

"And don't I know it," she giggled, then squeezed his arm in greeting. "Hello, honey. It's nice to see you again so soon."

"Likewise, Carole," Blaine greeted back, putting the cut vegetables in a bowl and reaching for another set of zucchini. "I hope you don't mind that we're commandeering your kitchen. Kurt wanted to cook this meal for his dad ever since we ate at that vegetarian restaurant a couple of months ago."

"No, no, don't worry, I don't mind. Go on, I'll go freshen up," she said, giving him one last pat on the back before walking over to her husband to give him a kiss hello. She pressed another kiss to Kurt's cheek in greeting and then left the kitchen.

Silence reigned after Carole's departure, and Blaine finished up the chopping quickly and came over to Kurt's side. "I'm all done, anything else I can help you with?"

Kurt gave him a grateful smile and nudged him with his shoulder, making Blaine lower his head and biting back a stupid grin. "Can you get me the skim milk from the fridge please?"

"No problem." He touched Kurt's waist in passing before making his way over to the fridge. Mr. Hummel was still oddly silent but Blaine tried to not let it intimidate him.

Carole, once again, saved him from death by awkwardness when she returned to the kitchen, clapped her hands together and asked enthusiastically, "So what're we cooking?"

The evening was a pleasant affair from then on out. Blaine stopped feeling like an outsider looking in somewhere between helping Carole put together a salad and eating the main course, which was a delicious vegetable concoction almost on par with the meal him and Kurt had eaten at the restaurant in New York. Carole traded anecdotes from her day at the hospital, and Blaine couldn't help but share some of his father's stories from when he'd been an internist at the hospital over in Westerville. Kurt gave him a questioning eyebrow at that because Blaine rarely talked about his father voluntarily, much less in the company of people he didn't know very well. But the Hummel-Hudsons put him at ease and made it _so easy_ to open up to them that Blaine hadn't even thought about it before he'd started talking.

Kurt didn't seem to mind all that much. He squeezed Blaine's hand briefly in quiet support before resting it on his knee for the rest of the night. Maybe he wanted to make sure that Blaine would feel calm and reassured, or maybe he just wanted to drive Blaine crazy. At this point, he really couldn't tell anymore.

They cleared the table together, with Kurt and Carole wrapping up leftovers while Mr. Hummel and Blaine cleaned the plates in tandem. It was all so domestic and _normal_ that it took Blaine's breath away for how much he _wanted_ this. He wanted this so much it almost hurt.

He had to excuse himself to the bathroom to get himself under control. Looking at himself in the small mirror above the sink, he tried to calm down, get his heartbeat back under control. Yes, he adored Kurt's dad and stepmom, and yes, if he would get the chance to be part of this family he would jump on it, but he had to be real. This would end, this wasn't going to happen for real. They were playing an act and if Blaine didn't stop forgetting that all the time, he might not get out of this with his heart intact.

He took one last, deep breath before he opened the bathroom door and made his way back to the kitchen. He came to a sudden stop when he heard Mr. Hummel say his name.

"You're really gone for that boy," Mr. Hummel said. Blaine contemplated making his presence known when Kurt's voice made him freeze.

"What do you mean?"

A sigh, then a quiet huff before Mr. Hummel said, "I've never seen you touch anyone so much like you touch him. And not just in private, but in public too."

Silence reigned and Blaine swallowed thickly, his back pressed against the wall while he berated himself for eavesdropping on them but unable to walk away either.

"I know you, Kurt," Mr. Hummel said after a moment, his voice gentle. "And I have eyes. This is really serious for you, isn't it?"

Blaine held his breath in anticipation of what Kurt would say. Would he finally confess? Tell his dad that they were just best friends?

"Yes, it is," Kurt said quietly and Blaine felt like he'd been punched.

What? Had he really just heard what he thought he'd heard? Was Kurt serious? Or was he sticking to the plan and outdoing himself in being convincing?

"I'm glad," Mr. Hummel said, equally quiet. "He seems to adore you, too."

Blaine felt his cheeks flush. God, had he been _that_ obvious? It was good for keeping up pretenses, Blaine knew, but he was also pretty certain that for the last few days, he hadn't even needed to act like he was head over heels for Kurt.

_Because he actually was._

Blaine's head fell back against the wall and he closed his eyes, totally gut punched by the realization he'd been trying to ignore for several days now.

He was in love with Kurt. He was _in love_ with _Kurt_. His best friend, his co-conspirator, the person who knew absolutely everything about him except that.

The person who had never indicated that he felt anything even remotely romantic for Blaine.

He'd totally blanked out Mr. Hummel and Kurt while he had his epiphany, and panic welled up in his throat when he heard the two men starting to leave the kitchen. He straightened up from his slump against the wall and strode forward as if he'd just entered the hallway. He almost collided with Mr. Hummel and Kurt in the doorway to the kitchen, and it took Blaine everything he'd ever learned during college to act like he hadn't overheard their conversation, instead smiling brightly at them.

"Kurt said you two have to leave soon because you have rehearsals early tomorrow," Mr. Hummel greeted him, looking a mixture of amused and touched, probably remnants of their earlier conversation.

Blaine chanced a glance at Kurt who wouldn't quite meet his eyes, then nodded at Mr. Hummel. "That's right. Rachel seemed to be adamant that we start as early as possible to have the maximum amount of time to prepare."

"Sounds like Rachel Berry alright," Mr. Hummel said, rolling his eyes a bit though it was clear that he was fond of her nonetheless.

They made their way over to the door, getting themselves ready to go. While Kurt was hugged by Carole, Blaine held out his hand to Kurt's dad. "Thank you for having me, Mr. Hummel."

Mr. Hummel looked him over carefully before one corner of his mouth lifted. "Call me Burt, son."

Blaine blinked, startled. He hadn't expected that, not in the span of two days. Or ever, for that matter. But the offer made Blaine choke up in gratitude and a hefty portion of guilt over lying to this amazing, supportive man.

"Thank you," he said, voice thick with emotion. "I will."

Burt rolled his eyes before he grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him into a hug, startling Blaine even more.

"You're alright, kid," he heard Burt murmur against his ear before he let go of Blaine, politely not commenting on the tears Blaine could feel gathering in his eyes. He gave Burt another smile, though it was more wobbly this time.

"Don't be a stranger," Burt said while he hugged Kurt who promised he wouldn't before he let go of his dad.

The cab drive back to their hotel was quiet. Neither of them seemed inclined to talk. Blaine, at least, had too much on his mind to attempt a conversation, and Kurt looked like he was deep in thought as well. They were only a few minutes out from their hotel when Blaine whispered, "I don't like lying to your dad."

The silence was almost deafening before he could hear Kurt's whispered, "Me neither."


	8. Chapter 8

Wednesday morning was... _weird_. The night before had unsettled them both in different ways, it seemed. Blaine couldn't get over the fact that he'd fulfilled every cliché in the book and fell in love with his best friend. And Kurt... Kurt was quiet and withdrawn, barely looking at Blaine when he got up, much less talking to him. Blaine had no idea how they were supposed to live through the rest of the week like this. Scratch that, they would barely survive the morning with Kurt's friends surrounding them. He might not know them as well as Kurt did, but even Blaine had caught on that they were an insightful, nosy bunch of people who had Kurt's best interests at heart. If it looked like him and Kurt had had an argument, Blaine didn't even want to speculate on what they'd do to him.

Secretly he wished he didn't have to go and rehearse with them today. It wasn't only that him and Kurt were at odds right now, it was also the slight nervous tingling in his body about performing with a new group of people whose strengths and weaknesses he didn't know. Everyone had habits, and usually it took a performer longer than a few hours to get in tune with a new group. Blaine really didn't want to disappoint, whether it be Kurt, Kurt's friends or his own expectations.

The decision was taken out of his hand when there was a knock at their hotel room door. For the first time that morning they exchanged a look, and they both looked puzzled. They didn't expect anybody, but Blaine stood up from his seat anyway and walked over to open it.

He was met with Santana and Quinn's smiling faces. "Oh, hi!" he greeted them. "I didn't expect you here."

"We heard you're staying here as well so we thought we'd catch up with you before rehearsals, get some breakfast?"

"That would be lovely?" Kurt said, suddenly standing behind him and putting a hand on Blaine's hip to pull him closer. His brain whimpered in capitulation.

"Great, let's go," Quinn said, shouldering her purse.

"We'll be right out," Kurt promised, closing the door in their faces. As soon as they were alone, his smile dropped and his head fell against Blaine's shoulder.

"I don't know if I can do this for much longer," he whispered. Blaine's heart constricted in his chest at Kurt's broken tone and he didn't even have to think about it before he turned and slid his hand on Kurt's back to rub it soothingly.

"It'll be fine," he promised, slinging his free arm around Kurt's waist. "Everything's going to be fine."

Kurt's head lifted up and their eyes met. Kurt still didn't look convinced and the sad smile on his lips physically _hurt_ Blaine. But then Kurt steeled himself, took another deep breath before walking away, grabbing both their bags and holding Blaine's out to him when he was close enough.

"Thanks," he said, taking it and slinging it over his shoulder while Kurt opened the door.

"Okay, we're ready," he proclaimed, quite clearly ignoring the barely concealed grins on both women's faces. Oh, Blaine could guess what they were thinking, and they couldn't have been further from the truth.

It didn't help that Blaine wished with every fiber of his being that it were true.

* * *

"So what did you guys do yesterday?" Quinn asked while they seated themselves at a table with their coffees and snacks.

"Not much," Kurt said evasively. "I showed Blaine around Lima and then we had dinner with my dad and Carole."

"So does the parental unit approve?" Santana asked, taking a sip from her coffee.

Blaine almost choked on his own, but Kurt remained composed as usual. "He doesn't really get to decide who I date, and he knows that."

"Touché."

"We didn't get a chance to talk properly the other night," Quinn jumped in, looking at Blaine. "Rachel hasn't exactly told us much about you."

"That's because she barely knows anything," Kurt mumbled into his coffee, looking petulant.

Quinn sighed. "Honestly, Kurt. When will you stop being mad at her and forgive her?"

"I _have_ forgiven her!"

"Really, 'cause it doesn't look like that from where I'm sitting," Santana said, giving him an unimpressed look.

"They talk regularly," Blaine chimed in, hoping he could get the two women to let up, but all it did was bring their attentions back to him.

"Oh, yeah, how often?" Santana asked.

"You don't have to..." Kurt started saying at the same time Blaine answered, "Every three months or so?"

Everyone fell silent. Blaine got the distinct impression that he'd said something awful, and a quick look at Kurt's white face only confirmed his suspicions.

"Damn, Hummel," Santana finally said, releasing her breath between her teeth. "This is worse than I thought."

"Kurt and Rachel never really went more than a couple of days without talking to each other," Quinn explained to Blaine. "Not even when they were really mad. They were attached at the hip."

Blaine wanted to shrink up in his chair and disappear. He could only guess at how mad Kurt must be with him for busting him like that, but how was he supposed to know that their regular phone calls were still highly unusual for them?

"Let me guess," Quinn continued, looking at Kurt now. "She's the one who calls _you_ every three months?"

Kurt didn't answer, but his set jaw spoke volumes. Both women sighed.

"You're such a girl sometimes," Santana said, picking up her breakfast bagel. "Seriously, it's been six years, when will you let this go already?"

"That's rich, coming from _you_ of all people, Miss I-can-carry-a-grudge-until-the-end-of-time," Kurt bit out.

Santana scoffed. "I'm only holding a grudge against stupid people who deserve it, not friends who took up another career path than we've planned since sophomore year and which, _surprise_ , turned out to be a good thing in the end!"

Kurt's nostrils flared and he folded his arms over his chest. Blaine could almost feel him vibrate with anger next to him. Right now, he would've given his left arm to undo his words from earlier so this whole conversation never would've happened. Blaine hated it when Kurt was upset.

"You're an asshole, Hummel," Santana said, not holding back. Quinn touched her arm to calm her down but she shook it off. "No, Quinn, he needs to hear this because he has his head so far up his own ass that Rachel's desperate messages don't get through. So listen up, Kurt, and read my lips carefully: you. are. an. asshole."

"Fuck you too, Satan," Kurt hissed, shoving his chair back to get up.

"All of you, sit down and shut up."

Quinn's voice was pure steel and everyone froze, including the couple sitting one table over. She gave them a sheepish smile before looking back at Kurt and Santana, giving each of them a cold look. "We're not in high school anymore, so act like you remember that for the next couple of minutes while I say my piece?"

When neither of them objected, Quinn nodded to herself before moving her sole focus on Kurt once more. "I get that you were hurt by Rachel's decision," she started, raising a finger when Kurt tried to interrupt. He closed his mouth and looked away, his face mulish. Quinn sighed. "Do you have any idea how much you hurt her when you ignored her for a _year_ , Kurt? Because I've heard all about it when she called me up, crying and trying to _understand_ why her best friend has stopped talking to her. Wasn't he supposed to be happy for her and support her in any way he could?"

Silence settled over them for a moment before Quinn leaned forward to emphasize her point. "Guess what, Kurt. I couldn't give her an answer because I couldn't understand it myself. Best friends _are_ supposed to be all of these things, and you were a shitty friend to her during that year. I don't know what finally made you answer her calls after that year, but I'm glad you did because she _needs_ your friendship, Kurt. And this half assed thing you've got going on right now? Please do her and yourself the favor and stop being a dick about this."

Blaine could hear Kurt swallow, but he didn't dare look at him right now. Kurt hated when people caught him during a vulnerable moment, and as much as he _wanted_ to comfort Kurt right now, he wasn't sure if it would be well received.

The silence persisted for a few more moments before Santana sighed and stood up with a mumble about needing more coffee. Blaine, who wasn't great with heavy silences at his best of days, quickly jumped up and joined her. They made their way over to the cash register, and while they waited for their orders, Blaine chanced a glance back to the table where he could see Kurt and Quinn deep in conversation.

"Don't worry about him," Santana said, leaning next to him against the counter. "She's good at straightening us out. Probably the lawyer in her. And he deserved it."

"I know," Blaine admitted and couldn't help the small smile at Santana's surprised look. "What? Just because I love him doesn't mean I don't see his flaws."

The words had barely left his mouth before his breath caught in his throat. This was the first time he'd ever said those words out loud, and it was a heady, terrifying feeling. Santana only smirked, then turned and took both their orders from the barista and held Blaine's out for him.

"I think they're finished now," she said, nodding to the table. "Should be safe to head back now." She nudged him with her shoulder before walking away, leaving Blaine to stare at her back. He had the sudden realization that he was growing fond of her and her frank outlook on the world. He shook his head, looked down at his coffee and, after one last glance at the table, followed her.

* * *

Somehow - probably through her sheer tenacity and inability to let things go - Rachel had managed to score them a few hours in the church for practice, later followed by the reception hall.

"It's so we can get used to the acoustics," she said while everyone filed into the church, finding a place to sit in one of the first two rows. Blaine had to admit that her reasoning had merit. Though to be honest, Blaine had never encountered a church where an _a cappella_ group didn't sound amazing.

They started to warm up their voices, with Puck doing jumping jacks as well "to get my creative juices flowing again, man". Finn seemed to think it was valid and joined him, getting bemused head shakes from most of the girls and a wheelchair twirl from Artie, probably out of solidarity.

Then Rachel handed out the notes for the two songs they had planned to sing in the church. Blaine smiled at her when she gave him his sheet, sensing Kurt going rigid next to him when he took his own from her. His smile didn't let on what he was feeling or that Quinn had more or less ripped him a new one over breakfast. Blaine wanted to comfort him somehow, make Kurt realize that he wasn't alone, so he did the only thing he could think of and took his hand in his, entwining their fingers and giving them a reassuring squeeze. He'd done a lot of hand holding over the last few weeks and he'd gotten quite good at the comforting squeeze by now. Judging from Kurt's small, private smile, Blaine had succeeded this time too.

"We start with 'Marry You', of course. I was thinking that the boys start the song and the girls echo them with the second verse," Rachel said, standing in front of them and pointing at each group.

"I hope you don't plan to sing the whole song," Artie said, looking at all of them. "I don't think Mike would actually _be_ okay if Tina wakes up the next day and regrets that she married him."

"Fair point," Sam said, shrugging his shoulders. "Half the song and some repetitions on the chorus should be enough to get them both down the aisle, right?"

"I’m still negotiating with Tina’s mother that we’re allowed to sing this while they walk down the aisle, but yes, that should be enough," Rachel assured them, flipping the sheet over. "Now, for the other song."

"I still can't believe we're singing _Air Supply_ ," Puck scoffed.

Rachel glared at him. "It's a very touching, appropriate song. And I think it's a beautiful song to sing for them right after they've gotten married."

"It certainly sounds like it could be right out of Mike's head," Quinn said, smiling down at her sheet and the lyrics of 'Come What May'.

"Do you want to make that a group number?"

Blaine only realized that he'd spoken aloud when everyone turned to stare him. He immediately felt self conscious about the attention, but when he saw Rachel's encouraging nod he added, "It's just... all of you guys wish them the best and want to send them on their way into a shared future together, so it would have a beautiful symbolic flair."

"I like how the man thinks," Puck said, grinning and pointing at him. Blaine ducked his head to hide his own smile.

"The only problem is that the arrangement isn't for a choir," Rachel pointed out, looking at her notes.

Blaine cleared his throat. "I can do it. Give me thirty minutes."

Rachel looked at him as if he'd hung the moon, but then nodded and thanked him. "It's okay, I don't mind. It's what I do," he assured her, walking over to the bench where his bag was lying. “Do you want to change the lyrics too?” When the others just looked at him, he shrugged. “It’s for both of them, right? And the lyrics are sung by a man to a woman. We should give Tina a few verses as well.”

“You,” Rachel said, looking at him with a shine in her eyes, “are a godsend, kind sir.”

Blaine could feel himself flush and he shook his head. “No, I’m really not. It’s just what I do. I just need to know with whom you want to start.”

“Tina,” Mercedes and Artie almost said in unison, then grinned at each other. The rest of the group nodded their assent and Blaine nodded back, turning around. He opened his bag and pulled out his trusted notebook that he took everywhere with him, just in case that inspiration struck. Sitting down, he started copying the main voice down into his book so he could work with it from there when he realized that it was still eerily quiet. He looked up and was yet again faced with everyone's attention.

"Oh," he said when he finally caught on that they were waiting for him. "Go on and practice Bruno Mars. It'll help me assess which types of voices I'm working with."

Rachel furrowed her brows. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Blaine smiled at her, then bent back over his notebook. He tuned them out a little and concentrated on the notes, but when the group started the song, his pencil paused and he looked up, his gaze immediately finding Kurt.

He always loved to watch Kurt sing. His voice was incredible, and he did so many subtle things with his face while singing that it almost always took Blaine's breath away. It wasn't any different this time, even if it was only an old pop song. Kurt _embraced_ music like nobody else Blaine knew and it always made him feel small and insignificant, humbled and proud all at once.

He watched them for a few more minutes before concentrating on the task at hand.

As promised, he gave them a choir version of the Air Supply song about thirty minutes later, including the slightly changed lyrics for the first verse. He ducked his head at their heartfelt and sometimes exuberant thanks and positioned himself next to Kurt, who gave him a soft look that meant more to Blaine than all the others thanks combined. Smiling softly at him, he bumped their shoulders together briefly. Then the rehearsal continued.

When lunchtime rolled around, Rachel deemed them prepared enough for their church performances at least, and suggested they go eat somewhere. Puck and Finn were instantly on board with that, to nobody's surprise.

Lunch was a loud, boisterous and hilarious experience. Blaine was a little sad that he hadn't known all these people in high school. He was sure he would've liked them immensely, and judging from Kurt's whole demeanor, he'd certainly missed them all. He was currently talking to Rachel, both of them looking content and at ease, and Blaine remembered what Quinn had said this morning about them being joined at the hip in the past. Watching them now, he could definitely see the potential for an epic friendship. The question of why Kurt still wasn't back to that form of friendship resurfaced in Blaine's mind. He would have to ask him later.

'Later' turned out to be earlier than he'd expected. After lunch they'd gone down to the reception hall where they were greeted by a short guy with spiky blond-ish hair who introduced himself as Travis, Mike's best man. He and Rachel exchanged enthusiastic hugs before Travis revealed that him and Rachel had planned a quick and easy choreography for two of their remaining songs. Everyone seemed dubious about that part, as most of them hadn't danced in sync for quite a while, but he reassured them with a smile that they would be fine, he wasn't putting them through the same paces as he would Mike.

Two hours later, everyone was sweaty and exhausted but having the time of their lives. They were on a break and Blaine had collapsed next to Kurt who didn't even look winded. Blaine took a big gulp from his water bottle, then fell back on the floor of the reception hall and closed his eyes.

"You can say what you want about Rachel Berry, but she certainly knows how to be the life of a party," Blaine mumbled, stretching his body a bit before slumping down again.

Kurt was oddly quiet next to him, but he'd been in a weird mood ever since yesterday when they'd come back from Burt's, and the breakfast conversation definitely hadn't helped to improve it. Blaine had just resigned himself to a few minutes of silence before they would start up again when Kurt asked, "Do you know what made me answer that phone call from Rachel?"

Blaine froze, then deliberately relaxed his body and kept his eyes closed. "No, what?"

"You."

Blaine's eyes opened in surprise. "Me?" he asked, sitting up while he looked at the side of Kurt's face. Kurt was looking at something on the other side of the room, almost as if he were deliberately avoiding Blaine's eyes.

"Yes, you," he said, falling silent again.

Suddenly he was turning his head to look into Blaine's eyes. "Remember the red carpet event we were watching at the time and you commented on how gorgeous her dress was but that she looked so incredibly lonely?"

Blaine's head was reeling. He did remember their conversation about Rachel Berry and her TV show, and yes, there had been some event they'd watched on TV at the time. "I... I think I do, yes."

Kurt nodded, averting his eyes again. "That was the first time I actually really looked at her since we parted ways, and I agreed. And it broke my heart, so when she called me a week later, I answered it."

"But you still kept her at a distance," Blaine asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Kurt sighed, rubbing his hands over his arms. "I don't know. Because I hadn't forgiven her just yet for abandoning me?"

Blaine stared at him, furrowing his brow. "That's stupid."

Kurt huffed. "I know that now, but... we had _plans_ , Blaine, and she _broke her promise_ and _left me_ for _Hollywood_ of all places. I was mad at her and yes, I was angry. I wanted her to suffer for abandoning me."

Blaine's thoughts were racing around in his head, trying to get his attention all at once. But one thought persisted, had been there ever since he'd found out that Kurt's relationship with Rachel wasn't quite as fine as he'd thought all these years. And hearing Kurt's words, sensing the underlying hurt and resentment now, added up to something in his head that he definitely didn't like.

"Kurt?" he said, quietly and not looking at him. "Why did you really tell her that lie about us dating?"

Kurt didn't answer. The silence only made Blaine's suspicions worse and he sat up properly, his gaze now glued to Kurt's face. "Was it really an accident, you telling her that I was your boyfriend?"

Kurt still didn't answer and didn't dare look at him. The anxiety in Blaine's gut grew infinitely worse. "Was it deliberate?" he breathed, not wanting to believe it. "Did you tell her that lie deliberately?"

Kurt's almost imperceptible wince was answer enough, really. Blaine's throat tightened up, but he had to know, he had to hear Kurt _say_ it! "Was this some misguided attempt to get back at her for abandoning you? Did you want to hurt her when you told her the truth about us?"

"She hurt me first!"

Stunned silence followed that undoubtedly involuntary exclamation and they looked at each other in surprise and shock. Then what Kurt had said actually made it to Blaine's brain and he reeled back as if slapped.

"Wow," he breathed, still staring at Kurt. He couldn't _believe_ him! So lying to his dad had been an unfortunate accident, but the lie he'd told Rachel had been deliberate, aimed to hurt her when she least expected it. The accidental lie had turned into a convenient weapon.

A bitter chuckle escaped Blaine. "Wow, Kurt. Congratulations," he said, glaring at his friend. "Guess what? In your desperate attempt to get your petty revenge you've managed to hurt me too. I hope you're happy now." 

With that he stood up and walked away, ignoring Kurt's panicked, "Blaine, wait!" He couldn't deal with this right now.

His heart hurt too much.

* * *

It was Brittany of all people who found him outside a few minutes later. At least it wasn't Kurt. He wasn't sure what he would've said or done to Kurt right now if he would've tried to justify his actions.

Blaine was hurt. Hurt and confused and yes, majorly disappointed. He'd always known that Kurt had his flaws, that he wasn't a saint and had a petty side, but he never would've thought that Kurt would use him and their friendship to get back at someone. He didn't know that side of Kurt, hadn't thought that it even existed. But here he was, undeniable proof right in front of him, and it hurt. Not to mention that it made him angry.

The worst part, though, was the realization that despite all that, Blaine was still head over heels for Kurt.

"I like your hair."

The non-sequitur brought Blaine up short and he looked up at Brittany, hand outstretched to touch his hair. "It's so curly. And it looks soft. Is it soft?" she asked before her fingers touched it briefly. Blaine's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't stop her. The thoughtful expression on her face was kind of endearing.

"I bet Kurt loves your hair too," she said, then sat down next to him on the bench.

"Yeah," Blaine mumbled. Right now he wasn't sure what to believe about Kurt, period. The anger that had vanished at Brittany's appearance came back with a vengeance.

"You look sad," Brittany said after a moment of silence. "Are you sad because of the dancing?"

Blaine couldn't stop the small twitch of his lips. "No, I'm not sad about the dancing."

"But you're sad?"

He paused, staring down at his clenched fists. "Yes, I'm sad," he admitted, deliberately relaxing his hands and rubbing them over his thigh.

"Can I help? I'm good at making people feel good again. I'm a professional masseuse."

Blaine looked up at that, staring at her in disbelief. Was she offering him _sex_?

"Not the sexy kind," she clarified a beat later. "Santana explained to me that there are two types and I'm not the sexy type, though I am sexy. But no, no sexy massages unless you're my boyfriend. But you're not my boyfriend, you're Kurt's boyfriend."

'No, I'm not,' Blaine thought. He drew in a startled breath at that and the immediate realization coming after: that he still, despite everything, very much _wanted_ to be Kurt's boyfriend.

"Thank you, Brittany, but I think I'm alright," he said, smiling at her. She seemed dubious about the sincerity of his answer but he gritted his teeth and didn't drop the smile until she nodded.

"Okay. But if you change your mind, the offer stands."

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for a little while longer until Rachel came around the corner, spotting them.

"Slight change of plans," she said, coming over to them. "I just got a desperate call from the bride that she needs rescuing from her overbearing family. I promised her I'd gather the troupes and we'd pick her and Mike up in about an hour."

"Okay," Brittany and Blaine said almost in sync. This time when he smiled, it felt real and not forced. Rachel still gave him a questioning look but didn't prod, for which Blaine was grateful.

"Come on, we're currently sorting out who drives with whom and where we should go and what supplies we might need," Rachel urged them to get up.

Brittany paused and looked at Rachel before she said, "I think I know the perfect place."


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh my god, this is _perfect_!" Tina exclaimed when they came to a stop on the shores of the lake in Schoonover Park. The whole group fanned out, putting down blankets and coolers with food and beverages. Blaine was glad to see that he was no longer the only significant other in attendance. Santana had picked up her girlfriend Alexis when they'd gone back to the hotel to get warmer clothes; Sam had brought his wife Emily as well, a cute brunette with a hearty laugh and twinkling hazel eyes; Travis had picked up Nick, his boyfriend-slash-soon-to-be-husband, before he'd joined them again. Even Blaine had to admit that they were adorable together, and he certainly wasn't in the best of moods right now.

No, he was still not talking to Kurt.

Blaine didn't even know how it happened, but he ended up with all the other spouses on one blanket, chatting amongst themselves while the former Glee club members indulged in their ridiculous antics. Blaine, even though he'd had several days now to get used to this, still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that a group like this one even existed, much less managed to stay friends.

"You still have that shell shocked look on your face," Emily said, grinning at him and nudging his shoulder with her own. "Believe me, honey, we've all been there. It never gets any less ridiculous."

"Though I have to admit that Kurt certainly is the least boisterous of them all," said Alexis.

"How long have you known them, exactly?" Blaine asked her, smiling at Puck and Finn who tried to push each other into the lake and coming close to toppling in together.

"Officially?" she asked, looking contemplative. "About three and a half years now, I think. But Santana told me about them pretty much from the moment we started dating. She always tried to pretend that she was glad to be rid of them but..." Alexis shrugged, sending her girlfriend a fond look.

"I think we were introduced to them at the same time, Alexis, weren't we?" Emily mused. "That get together right after they'd graduated college?"

"Oh, yeah. Right! That was quite the party," Alexis laughed, looking over at Nick. "You're in the same boat as Blaine, aren't you?"

"With the addition that I don't even date anyone in this circle of friends," Nick added. "But Mike said he'd love to have us too and the more the merrier. Plus, I think his family wants this wedding to be as big as humanly possible."

"Yes, something about tradition or something?" Emily asked.

"Well, they got their wish at least," Blaine said, looking around one more time. Puck and Finn had been rescued by Rachel ushering them back from the shore, berating them all the way. Finn rolled his eyes while Puck look oddly contrite before he slung a companionable arm over her shoulder and squeezed her to his side.

Blaine's gaze wandered further over the crowd until his gaze landed on Kurt who was sitting on a blanket with Tina and Mike. Outwardly he looked fine, content even. But Blaine registered his set shoulders and the almost nervous tick of his hand stroking over his thigh. Kurt wasn't okay, not even remotely.

Blaine tried not to care. He was still mad at him. And rightfully so, he thought. It just didn't sit right with him that Kurt had _used_ him. And fuck him, it hurt and Blaine would stay mad for as long as he liked.

Kurt's head started to turn and Blaine hastily looked away to avoid possible eye contact. He caught Nick's gaze in the process, who cocked his head inquiringly. He was a handsome guy in his mid thirties. His brown hair showed first signs of going grey and his face was streaked with laugh lines. The look in his eyes right now was sympathetic, confirming Blaine's suspicion that he'd caught on about the weird mood currently existing between him and Kurt. But instead of asking Blaine if they'd had a fight, he just smiled and asked how New York was treating him. Blaine could've kissed him in gratitude.

During their conversation, Blaine learned that Nick and Travis had met each other behind the scenes of a reality TV show and had an on again off again relationship for years before they'd started up a dancing school together. Becoming business partners had given them the push they'd needed to really commit to each other and they'd been a couple ever since, planning to make it permanent in a few months.

"I've admired Travis' dancing for years, before we even met, and when we did and hit it off so well I just..." Nick trailed off, looking for his partner and lighting up from the inside out when he found him a few yards away, deep in conversation with Artie and Quinn. "I fell in love with him almost fifteen years ago and could never fall back out of it. I'm glad we managed to get our act together."

"So you're a dancer too?" Blaine asked, looking between them.

Nick shrugged. "Not professionally anymore, no. Mostly I do beginners classes now. I fucked up my knee a few years ago and never quite recovered enough to be able to do the fancy stuff. It's what inspired us to open up the school in the first place." Nick sighed, rubbing his knee unconsciously. "Travis is an amazing choreographer and he's taking work outside the school too. But he never looked back, never regretted a thing. He's an amazing teacher too."

"So Mike applied to your dance school?" Emily, who'd listened to them talk for the last ten minutes, leaned over, curious.

Nick laughed and shook his head. "Oh, no. Travis met him on set of some music video he was choreographing. Mike impressed the shit out of him, they got to talking and Travis let Mike's name drop with some of his contacts. If Mike swung that way I probably would've had one hell of a competition for Travis' affections after he found out."

"Mike's an amazing guy," Emily said quietly. "Him and Tina are that couple everyone strives to be. High school sweethearts, never been with anyone but each other, still so in love with each other like it's the first day..." She trailed off, looking wistful.

Blaine could relate. When he'd been young, he'd always wanted to meet that person he could spend the rest of his life with, but when high school ended and it hadn't happened, he'd come to terms with the reality of never being one of those kids. And then he'd met Kurt, and despite his instant attraction to him they'd stayed firmly in the friends column for so many years now. After this week though... Blaine was pretty sure that he wasn't able to put Kurt back into that column after this week was over. And even if he could, he wouldn't want to anyway.

It grew darker and at one point they wandered up shore to a designated area where they were allowed to light a fire. Blaine was walking a bit apart from the group, watching the other couples hold hands and have intimate conversations. It only drove home how much he wanted that with Kurt and that he already missed the little contact they'd shared over the past weeks.

An arm suddenly landed on his shoulders and startled him out of his musings. He turned his head to look at Puck, who raised his brows at him as if waiting for Blaine to confess all his sins.

"Yes?" Blaine said instead, just to be contrary.

Puck wasn't fazed by that at all. "What's up with you and Hummel?"

Blaine could feel his insides freeze up in horror. Had they been so obvious that even _Puck_ had caught on?

"Nothing," he said, trying to deny it. Puck didn't buy it. Clasping Blaine's shoulder, he stopped and brought Blaine to a halt as well. He turned them so they could face each other, now both hands on Blaine's shoulders.

"I may look like an idiot and yes, most of the time I act like one too, but I'm not actually stupid," he said, strangely earnest. "Plus, I've got eyes and you and Hummel are not cool right now. So, what gives?"

Blaine felt the desperate urge to tell him at least part of the story and that alone scared him enough to shake his head and reply with, "It's complicated. It's a number of things."

"Is it Kurt's fault?"

The question surprised Blaine, but he nodded. Puck didn't look all that surprised.

"Don't get me wrong, I like Hummel just fine. But he's an idiot."

"Excuse me?" Blaine said, offended on Kurt's behalf.

"Chillax, young grasshopper. I mean it in the nicest sense, I promise."

Blaine had his doubts, but then again, he'd never heard Kurt be so politically incorrect than he'd been with Puck, and both had given as good as they'd got. There was probably some merit to Puck's claim that he didn't mean it as an insult.

"Kurt can be a dick when things don't go his way. I could tell you stories, but I guess you know most of them already so I'll spare you." Blaine wanted to ask him to tell him anyway, because Kurt had never talked much about his high school friends. Only the little, inconsequential things he'd deemed important enough before Blaine met them. But Puck continued before Blaine could open his mouth, "My point is: sometimes it takes him a while to work through his bullshit and realize that he's been a dick. But give him time and he'll make it right. Just... give him a chance to do so, okay?"

Puck waited until Blaine nodded before he squeezed his shoulders one last time and walked away, loudly demanding they better not start that fire without him. Blaine was left behind, confused and weirdly reassured.

Apparently he'd just gotten the stamp of approval from Noah Puckerman. Blaine was alarmed by how much that meant to him.

* * *

It was completely dark when Kurt found him. Blaine had been sitting alone on a blanket for a few minutes, ever since Sam had reclaimed his wife and run off with her somewhere. He'd just been contemplating if he should get up to get himself another soda when Kurt sat down next to him, folding his limbs gracefully and clasping his hands in his lap. Blaine looked at him briefly, but otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence.

"So, I've been a dick," Kurt started, his voice gentle and a little self deprecating. Blaine couldn't help but snort at that.

He felt Kurt tense next to him and braced himself for a huffy retreat, but instead Kurt deliberately breathed out and said, "Please don't make this harder than it is."

"Kurt," Blaine said, a clear warning in his tone that if Kurt didn't swallow his pride real soon, Blaine would get up and leave him to the mercies of his friends. Kurt seemed to get the message because he slumped in on himself.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry for all of this. For exploiting our friendship, for lying to you, for making you lie _for_ me. Just... I get why you're mad at me, and you've got every right to be but..."

He trailed off, clearly lost for words. Blaine didn't look at him. _Couldn't_ look at him, really. At least not quite yet.

"I don't like it when you're mad at me," Kurt confided, his voice no more than a whisper. It was almost as if he hadn't planned on saying that out loud. Blaine almost bit through his tongue to prevent himself from looking at Kurt. Everything in him screamed to just forgive Kurt already and put them all out of their misery. But no, he wouldn't make it _that_ easy for Kurt.

"It's really stupid," Kurt continued. "No, actually it isn't but it sounds stupid in my head. I'm going to say it anyway." He took a deep breath. "I miss you, Blaine," he whispered, his voice painfully honest.

No force on this earth could've prevented him from looking at Kurt now. He turned his head and took in his slumped posture, the dejected look on his face.

"I know that it's only been a few hours," Kurt tried to explain, "but I miss you looking at me, I miss you talking to me. It's... I don't want this to be the way we're going to be from now on, Blaine, just because I fucked up. And I'm sorry for... for everything."

Blaine hadn't stopped looking at Kurt for the entire time he'd been talking, but now he couldn't help but avert his gaze. Looking down at his own hands clasped in his lap, he thought about what Kurt had said, and he had to know, he just had to, so he asked, "Do you even understand _why_ I'm so mad at you?"

When he could feel Kurt's gaze, he continued, "It wasn't the lying. I signed up for that, I was fine with that. Well, not _fine_ exactly because it's still essentially _lying_ , but I knew what I was getting myself into so I didn't mind because you asked me to help."

He stopped and looked back at Kurt, meeting his gaze for the first time since their argument. Kurt looked crushed, but also attentive, giving Blaine his undivided attention.

"It was _you_ deliberately _using_ that lie to hurt Rachel," Blaine said, watching Kurt wince. "I didn't sign up for that. I wanted to help you get through this wedding, not help you hurt one of your oldest friends because you couldn't let go of your grudge."

"I know," Kurt said, shifting around and encircling his bent legs with his arms. He looked like a lost little boy and it tugged at Blaine's heart.

"It was a shitty thing to do and I never should've done it in the first place."

"No, you shouldn't have," Blaine said. He thought briefly if he should say the next part, but then decided to press his advantage as long as he could and added, "And do you know what else you should do? Stop being a dick about Rachel and make up with her. Properly this time."

It was a clear sign how aware Kurt had been about being in the wrong here when he didn't even give Blaine the evil eye. He just drew his legs in further to his chest. "I know. I will," he promised after a moment. Blaine nodded and they lapsed into silence again, both of them looking at the group lounging around the fire.

"You never talk about them," he said into the silence. He'd thought about the whys ever since he'd seen Kurt interact with his old friends, but he just couldn't figure it out. Maybe because Kurt was private, maybe because it would've hurt too much. Fact was that Kurt still cared a whole lot about these people and had never told Blaine more than the bare minimum about them. The only thing that kept Blaine from being hurt all over again was the fact that he'd never told his old friends about Blaine and their friendship either.

The silence grew heavier, even though they'd cleared up the air between them. Blaine wasn't sure what else there was to talk about to make them feel comfortable in each other's presence again. And fuck it, Blaine was _tired_ of constantly battling himself and his feelings. He was tired of denying himself. He was just so goddamn tired of pretending he didn't want to curl up with Kurt and soak up his warmth. So he shut his mind off, uncurled from his own defensive posture and tapped Kurt's forearm with his finger.

"Open up," he ordered when Kurt gave him a puzzled glance. He did so, still confused, but he finally caught on when Blaine shuffled over. It didn't take them long until they'd rearranged their limbs, Blaine resting between Kurt's legs and Blaine's back pressed against Kurt's chest with his arms encircling it to pull him closer. He could feel Kurt's warm breath at the nape of his neck and he closed his eyes, content for once.

"Tell me about them."

He felt Kurt tense for a second, and he braced himself for a rejection, but then Kurt took in a deep breath, pressed his forehead against Blaine's temple, and started talking.

* * *

The evening grew later and colder and everyone moved closer to the fire, including Kurt and Blaine who had traded places at this point, with Kurt now between Blaine’s outstretched legs, both of them huddled together under a blanket. Sam and his wife, as well as Travis and Nick had said good night a couple of hours ago, along with Artie and Brittany. Santana had been making out with her girlfriend for the last fifteen minutes, stretched out on their own blanket and covered with another. Rachel, to Blaine’s mild surprise, had found a place under Puck’s protective arm and didn’t seem inclined to move anytime soon.

Neither did Blaine, for that matter. Ever since Kurt had opened up about his old friends and told him every story imaginable, they hadn’t left each other’s orbit for more than a minute, and even then it was only to get drinks. At this point Blaine was pleasantly buzzed. He was certainly not fit to drive, but he wasn’t too far gone either. Kurt, on the other hand, was tipsy to the point of being drunk. It showed in his sudden urge to cuddle up to Blaine and giggle at the weirdest moments.

The alcohol levels were pretty high for all of them, except Quinn and Rachel who were designated drivers. Tina had been wallowing in nostalgic memories for the better part of the evening, occasionally sniffling into Mike’s shirt sleeve about times long gone. She was revisited the topic right now by bemoaning that they’d all grown up so fast and she sometimes wished she could be young and carefree again.

“But then you’d have to live through high school all over again,” Kurt mumbled from his place in Blaine’s arms. His eyes were only half open and he’d begun to get heavy a while ago, probably on the verge of sleep. Blaine couldn’t help the feeling of affection coursing through his body at this open showing of trust.

Tina didn’t spare Kurt a glance, looking at Mike instead like he’d hung the moon. “I’ve had it pretty good in high school,” she murmured, giving him a private smile which he returned before leaning down to kiss her gently.

“Wow, this is rapidly turning into a make out spot,” Finn mumbled, looking a little uncomfortable next to Quinn who had wrapped herself into one of the fluffy spare blankets to stay warm.

“Jealous?” Santana piped up, grinning evilly at him before letting her hand slide under the blanket that was covering her and Alexis.

“See, Tina?” Rachel said, smiling a little. “You don’t have to wish you were back in high school. Some of us never left.”

“Harsh, Rachel,” Puck grinned, squeezing her shoulder gently.

“I learned from the master,” she shot back, looking up at him with a mischievous grin of her own.

Blaine could be mistaken, but he got a serious vibe here that those two were attracted to each other. He leaned down to Kurt’s ear and whispered, “Is it just me or do you see what I see?”

He nodded over to Puck and Rachel and Kurt’s head lazily followed his direction. He was quiet for a moment before he pressed himself back against Blaine’s chest and whispered back, “It’s not just you. Huh, never would’ve thought they’d try again.”

Blaine flashed back to what Nick had told him and privately thought that you never knew what life had in store for you. But he kept that little insight to himself and instead drew Kurt a bit closer to his body. That earned him a content little sigh which made him smile.

"How come you two never kiss?"

Blaine froze up at Rachel's question, looking over at her. He was met with twin curious stares when Puck seemed just as interested in their answer as Rachel.

"It's not because you think we'd be uncomfortable with it, is it?" Finn asked, sounding tentative.

"Of course not," Kurt mumbled, trying to sit up and put a bit of space between them. Blaine wasn't going to let that happen and only tightened his grip around Kurt's chest, which earned him a glare.

"Because we'd be fine with it," Finn assured them, getting nods from the others as well.

"You can't tell me that all you do all day is cuddle each other senseless," Santana said, eyeing them. "Though I have to admit you're pretty good at that." Blaine could feel himself flush scarlet. 

"It's not that," Kurt mumbled, having given up his attempt to get free of Blaine's embrace, though he did sit straighter than before, probably uncomfortable with his friends speculating about their fictitious love life.

"Don't tell me you're still mad at each other?" Puck asked, proving yet again that he was painfully perceptive when he wanted to be and also had the worst possible timing to prove it.

Blaine's head fell forward and he stifled a pained groan against Kurt's shoulder. He felt Kurt's muscles tense for a second, but then he relaxed and shrugged his shoulders. "No, we kissed and made up, so to speak."

"There was no kissing to be seen from where I've been sitting," Puck shot back. Blaine's head lifted to give him an incredulous look.

"Have you been _spying_ on us, Puck?" Kurt asked, well on his way to being pissed off. Before Puck could answer that either way, Kurt continued, "Why are you so fixated on this anyway?"

"It's because I care, Hummel. An unhappy you makes me unhappy too."

"Oh god, please tell me you read that on a hallmark card somewhere," Kurt mumbled, letting his head drop to his knees.

"I'm hurt you don't think I had it in me to think that one up by myself."

"That's actually what I was afraid of."

"If you go on like that you're only convincing me more that something's going on here," Puck said, mostly joking. It got Blaine's undivided attention though.

They hadn't lied to everybody for the last few days and almost drove a wedge between each other over it for Puck to accidentally out them because he thought he was _joking_. And over something trivial like a kiss no less. No, Blaine wouldn't let him.

"It's okay, Kurt," he said quietly, getting Kurt's attention. He pulled his head back slightly when Kurt turned his, looking questioningly at him. Blaine shrugged one shoulder, giving Kurt a lopsided grin. "I don't mind. It's just a kiss, and if he insists..."

He trailed off and let the silence speak for itself. Kurt just looked at him, asking a thousand questions with his eyes only: if Blaine was sure, if he understood that he wasn't obligated to go _that_ far with this little charade if he didn't want to, if he was really sure, if he knew that Kurt wouldn't force him to do this, and _if he was sure_. Blaine just looked calmly back, answering each unspoken question with a silent yes. Frankly, he was curious what it would be like to kiss Kurt, not just stare at his mouth like it could vanish at any moment.

"Alright," Kurt mumbled finally, scooting around until he faced Blaine. "This is for you, Puck, so you'll shut up about it."

"Watch and learn," Blaine quipped before he put his hand against Kurt's cheek, tipped his chin up slightly and pressed their lips together.

It was supposed to be a short thing, just a meeting of lips, there and gone again. But the second their lips met, heat exploded in Blaine's gut and he couldn't help the startled breath through his nose. Kurt's lips opened, if in shock or as a reaction to Blaine he didn't know, but as soon as warmmoist- _tantalizing_ breath hit him, he couldn't help but open his own mouth and sink it back down on Kurt's. After that, all bets were off.

Blaine wasn't sure who brought tongue into the mix first, but one minute they were kissing open mouthed, sharing breath, their lips clinging to each other. And then suddenly Blaine was sucking eagerly on Kurt's tongue, coaxing it into his mouth and groaning when it brushed sensually against his own. His hand had found its way to the back of Kurt's head and was gripping it tightly, probably hurting him, but Kurt didn't seem to care. If anything, he pressed himself even closer to Blaine, one hand on Blaine's neck and the other slipping down his back.

Blaine was dimly aware that they still had an audience, but when Kurt's hand slipped down and palmed his ass, all coherent thought flew right out the window. He growled into Kurt's mouth and tipped him backwards until Kurt lay down underneath him. Blaine settled between his legs, meeting Kurt's groan with one of his own at the sensation of their cocks rubbing against each other through two layers of clothing.

The kiss had grown almost desperate by then, with Kurt's teeth nipping on Blaine's lower lip before soothing the sting tenderly. Blaine retaliated by fucking his tongue deep into Kurt's mouth, tilting his head back so far that Kurt couldn't do anything but take it, as long and as hard as Blaine wanted to give it to him, and judging by Kurt's deep, guttural growl he didn't mind in the slightest. Quite the contrary apparently. Kurt's hand grabbed Blaine's ass, squeezed it and pulled him _down_ against him, making them both groan long and deep and Blaine's hips snapped down on their own and the friction was going to _kill_ him soon if he couldn't...

Santana's evil cackle was like a bucket of ice water. They both froze, finally remembering that they weren't alone and had probably given Kurt's friends more of a show than either of them had intended.

"I'd say they showed you, Puckerman," Santana crowed, still laughing. "Did you learn anything?"

Kurt tensed under him and Blaine propped himself up on his elbows to take some of his weight off of Kurt. He looked down at him, and the sight of Kurt's closed eyes, flushed cheeks and puffy red lips almost undid Blaine all over again. He bit back the groan that wanted to escape and instead asked quietly, "You okay?"

Kurt didn't answer verbally, only nodded. His eyes stayed firmly closed. Blaine wasn't sure what to do, if he should press Kurt for an honest answer because he was clearly far from okay, but then he decided against it. He sat up carefully and moved to the side until he was sitting next to Kurt, shielding him from his friends as much as he could. Only then did Blaine dare to look at them.

Santana still looked amused, and so did Alexis. Finn looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here and avoided Blaine's gaze completely. Quinn and Rachel looked oddly intrigued, and so, to Blaine's absolute horror, did Puck.

"Damn, dude," he said as soon as Blaine caught his eye. "Didn't think you guys had it in you."

"Thank you, Noah," Kurt said from behind Blaine, startling him when his arms slid around Blaine's waist and Kurt's chin came to rest on Blaine's shoulder. "I live for your approval."

"As you should, Hummel, as you should."

Kurt squeezed Blaine for a second before relaxing against him again. He was probably still mortified that he'd made out with Blaine in front of his friends and took cover as much as he could. Blaine didn't really blame him, Kurt was a private person by nature. Still... All Blaine could think about for the rest of the night was how much he wanted to say, "Screw it!" and pull Kurt down on the blanket to continue where they'd left off.

He had no idea how he was supposed to survive a night in the same bed with him.


	10. Chapter 10

It turned out that Blaine, despite his raging hormones and how much he wanted to just grab Kurt and rut against him until they both forgot their names, didn't get the chance to act out any of his fantasies. Apparently fretting over falling in love with your best friend, being hurt by said best friend, coupled with dance rehearsals and alcohol and even more emotional upheaval weren't very productive for one's libido. He barely made it to the bed in time before he conked out and slept like the dead.

Blaine was still more or less asleep when he felt Kurt lean over him in the bed the next morning, running a hand through his hair.

"Blaine?" he asked quietly, probably in case Blaine really was still asleep and he didn't want to wake him.

But he did hear Kurt, and the caresses might go in a very pleasant direction if Blaine sounded encouraging enough, so he hummed an acknowledgment for Kurt and hoped for the best.

But instead of a warm body pressing against his back, all he could feel was Kurt's hand on his neck, followed by a low chuckle.

"I promised Rachel yesterday that we would meet for an early lunch," he said, still quiet but now with a note of amusement in his tone. "To talk."

Blaine frowned, confused for a moment. Weren't they on their way to making out just a second ago? Or had he dreamed that? Then Kurt's words caught up with him and his eyes popped open. It took him a second or two to focus on Kurt, but when he did he saw that he was already dressed and ready to go. Blaine blinked, trying to clear the fog from his brain.

"To talk?" he rasped out, wanting to make sure he got Kurt right.

Kurt nodded, his hand still on Blaine's neck, squeezing it gently. "Finally clearing the air between us."

"That's good," Blaine mumbled, closing his eyes briefly to get his bearings. "Don't tell her you lied."

He hadn't known this would come out of his mouth until it did, and apparently it also surprised Kurt. "What?"

Blaine rubbed a hand over his face. "Just... just don't tell her. She doesn't need to know that you planned to deliberately hurt her."

Kurt stared at him, a mixture of confusion and wonder on his face. Finally, when Blaine thought Kurt would disagree with him, he leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to Blaine's forehead. "Okay. I won’t tell her I planned to hurt her."

Blaine nodded, eyes closed once again. His head fell back into the pillow and he tried not to whimper when he felt Kurt stand up from the bed.

"I'll see you later for the bachelorette party," Kurt said from the door. "Someone'll pick you up, I promise."

"Okay," Blaine mumbled into the pillow. "See you later."

Before Kurt could actually leave, Blaine's head shot up one more time. "Kurt?"

Kurt paused in the open doorway, looking back to the bed and Blaine, his gaze questioning. "Are we going to talk about this?" he asked quietly.

Kurt blushed, looking down at his feet briefly before nodding. "Yes, we will. Later, okay?"

"Okay," Blaine nodded in return and fell back on the bed, looking at Kurt through half closed eyes. For a second Blaine thought Kurt might change his mind and come back, but then he smiled, nodded one more time and closed the door behind himself. Blaine sighed, burrowed his face in the pillow, and went back to sleep.

* * *

He was woken again about an hour later by incessant knocking. He groaned into his pillow, not willing to get up just yet, but the knocking didn't subside, and with a deep sigh he rolled out of bed and walked over. When he saw the grinning faces of Puck and Finn he almost slammed the door shut again.

"Oh, god, are you here to kill me?" he couldn't help but ask. Finn gave him a puzzled frown while Puck just looked amused. Blaine squinted at him.

"No," Finn said. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know?" Blaine said, flashing back to his make out session with Kurt yesterday.

"No, dude, Kurt said to pick you up later for the party," Puck told him, peeking over Blaine's shoulder into the hotel room.

Blaine just shook his head, still horribly confused. "And he asked _you_?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Finn again. He seemed to be a little offended that Blaine doubted the sincerity of their words.

"Uhm... no reason," Blaine hedged, then frowned again. "Wait. If he asked you to get me later, why are you already here?"

"Because you need some male company," Puck said, grinning at him.

Blaine just stared. "And Kurt is... what, exactly?"

"He doesn't count, he's your boyfriend," Puck waved his words away. "We're talking male bonding time."

"Oh god, do I even want to know?"

"Just trust us, dude," Finn assured him. "It'll be awesome!"

"If you say so," Blaine mumbled, looking over his shoulder to the bed and trying to figure out if arguing with them was worth the hassle. In the end he decided not to bother and instead waved at them vaguely, walking back into the room and leaving the door open. "Give me twenty minutes to get ready," he said, grabbing a set of clothes before shutting himself into the bathroom.

* * *

"So what are we going to do, exactly?" Blaine asked when they got into Puck's car.

“First, I need to run some errands,” Puck said, starting the car with a roar.

“And you need _me_ for that?”

“Not really,” Puck said, smiling when he pulled out into traffic. “But work called while you were making yourself pretty, so you just have to deal.”

And that’s how Blaine spent the better part of his afternoon with Puck and Finn in other people’s backyards, cleaning swimming pools. Blaine was pretty sure that Finn wasn’t usually doing this either, but for his friendship with Puck he seemed to be willing to put up with it. And in a weird way, it was fun. Not something Blaine would want to do for the rest of his life, but it certainly helped the three of them bond when they stumbled upon a cache of sex toys in a pool shed.

“Not that I _ever_ want to talk about Mrs. Singer’s sex toys in the future,” Finn mumbled with a shudder when they were back in the car. “Or think about them. She’s, like, forty!”

Blaine just grinned from the backseat when Puck exclaimed, “Dude, those are the most adventurous women. You just haven’t lived until you fucked a MILF.”

Finn shuddered again.

Puck just laughed at him, then turned around to Blaine. “Hey, what’s it called in your circle?”

“Eyes on the road!” Blaine shouted, a little panicked. Puck rolled his eyes but turned back around.

“And what do you mean, ‘my circle’?”

“The gay circle, man,” Puck explained. “Come on, educate us.”

Blaine’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. FILF?”

Puck started laughing so hard that he almost crashed the car. Blaine shouted some more and even Finn looked alarmed but luckily, Puck got himself in check fast and subsided into gleeful chuckles. “Man,” he breathed between giggles, “that sure sounds _filthy_.”

Only then did Blaine notice his unintended pun and he groaned, lowering his head and shaking it in disbelief. “Wow, Puck. That was _horrible_.”

“It was _awesome_ ,” he insisted, slapping the steering wheel.

“I don’t know, man, I’m with Blaine,” Finn said, looking dubious.

“That’s because your brother is dating short stuff here and you have to be, like, loyal or some shit,” Puck said, bringing the car to a stop in front of yet another house. “Okay, this is the last one, I promise. After that we’re going on your male bonding exercise.”

Blaine blinked at him. “What exactly have we been _doing_ all day if not bond?”

Puck looked at him as if he was stupid. “Work. Man, that’s _nothing_ to what we’ve still got left to do.”

Blaine rubbed his forehead in a losing battle to stave off a tension headache. “Just tell me we’re not going fishing or... or _camping_ because as much as I like you guys, I’d rather do _that_ sort of bonding with Kurt.”

Silence reigned from the front seat and Blaine looked up. Puck and Finn were staring at each other, communicating solely with their eyebrows. Then Finn turned around and said, “See, Burt and Kurt have been talking about camping for _years_ as if it’s something weird you don’t talk about and I never got what the deal was.”

Blaine could only stare at him for a really long moment before he dissolved into helpless giggles.

“No, seriously, is this a gay thing?” Finn asked, clearly never having heard of metaphors. Blaine only laughed harder.

“You should really ask Kurt about that,” Blaine could finally press out after he’d calmed down some. He almost started laughing again when he heard Finn’s petulantly mumbled, “I already did.” Instead he opted for opening the car door and letting himself out.

For that moment alone, it had been worth it to get woken up by these two.

* * *

It was shortly after five when they finally put all the cleaning gear back into the truck and made their way over to Puck’s apartment, “To clean up and shit, we can’t go out smelling like sweat and chlorine.” Blaine pointed out that he didn’t have any clean clothes with him, so they made a detour to the hotel where Blaine grabbed the stuff he’d been planning to wear tonight and hopped back into the car.

After they’d all cleaned up, they left the car behind and made their way on foot to wherever Puck and Finn deemed it ‘manly’ enough to ‘bond’ with Blaine. It turned out to be a sports bar.

“Seriously?” Blaine couldn’t help but ask, looking around at the guys sitting on bar stools, watching different games on several TVs placed over the bar. “ _This_ is your idea of ‘male bonding’?”

“What’s wrong with some beer while watching a game or two?” Finn asked, already distracted by some football game.

Blaine just closed his eyes and shook his head. “You two should meet my dad some time,” he mumbled but gave in to the inevitable, sent a quick plea into the ether that Kurt would come rescue him soon, and followed Puck to a corner table.

They ate some seriously awesome steak sandwiches with fries and drank cheap beer that Blaine stopped tasting after the second bottle. He was already comfortably buzzed when the first shot glass appeared in front of him. Not knowing how to decline it without making it seem like he wasn't on board with the ‘bonding ritual’, he downed it and almost coughed out his lung when the alcohol burned its way down his throat.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he rasped, hitting his chest to make everything in there start working again. Puck only laughed and slapped him on the back, almost making Blaine hit the table top with his nose from the impact.

It only went downhill from there. Several shots later, Blaine couldn’t be bothered by anything anymore. Puck was hanging over his shoulder, breathing alcohol heavy breath into his face while he proclaimed that, “you’re okay for a short dude, man.” Blaine had no idea what his height had to do with anything, but he assured Puck that he was okay, too. Finn seemed to feel excluded and put his arm over Puck’s that was already resting on Blaine’s shoulders, almost toppling them all down on the table.

“I love you too, man,” Puck slurred, patting Finn’s head and almost knocking it into Blaine’s. This was certainly the weirdest group hug Blaine had ever been a part of, but it was also surprisingly comfortable.

That’s how Kurt found them.

He was suddenly standing there, right in front of their table with Rachel in tow. Both looked disapproving, with frowns on their faces. Kurt had also put his hands on his hips and he was glaring at Puck.

“What the fuck have you two been doing to him?” he asked loudly.

Puck’s arm slipped out from under Finn’s and he waved vaguely. “Chillax, Hummel. We did what you told us to do.”

“Ex _cuse_ me?” Kurt looked almost apoplectic.

“We were bonding,” Finn piped up, looking and sounding like a proud puppy.

“You weren’t supposed to get him _drunk_!” Kurt shouted, looking really upset for some reason and Blaine just couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m not drunk!” he exclaimed, trying to sit up straight but veering to the left thanks to Finn’s arm still over his shoulders.

Kurt’s gaze landed on him and his eyes softened, his stance relaxing a little. “Oh honey, you really, _really_ are,” he said gently, taking a step forward and pushing Finn’s arm away with another glare.

Blaine’s head was swimming and, okay, maybe Kurt had a point because he was suddenly looking at two Kurt’s which... okay, come to think of it, wasn’t really a bad thing. He could have a Kurt sandwich!

“I’m sorry, a _what_ sandwich?” Rachel asked, looking shocked and delighted in equal measures.

Oops, had he said that out loud? Okay, maybe he _was_ drunk.

“I really should’ve seen this coming,” Kurt said, shaking his head in disbelief. “ _Why_ didn’t I see this coming?”

“Don’t be mad,” Blaine said, looking up at Kurt with pleading eyes. Kurt’s whole face softened.

“I’m not mad,” he said, but Blaine grinned, raising a finger to point at him and almost poking his cheek in the process. “Yes, you are,” he declared.

Now Kurt was smiling slightly, encircling Blaine’s finger to push it down gently. “Just a little, and I think it’s justified,” he said before sighing. “We have to sober you up a little before we meet the others,” he murmured, stroking a broad, warm, _gentle and soothing and awesome_ hand up and down Blaine’s back. Blaine couldn’t help it when his head listed to the side until it came to rest on Kurt’s shoulder.

“How’d you find us?” he mumbled, turning his head a little until he could nose along Kurt’s neck, making him shiver in the process. He grinned.

“Puck texted Rachel,” Kurt said quietly, a slight tremor in his voice. “Speaking of which: _why_ are you smelling like Puck?”

Blaine’s brow furrowed in confusion, but it didn’t last long because, duh, they’d been cleaning pools all afternoon and they’d been all sweaty and then he showered at Puck’s place and it was all because, “We were bonding!”

Kurt gaped at him. “In his _shower_?”

“Well, yes, where else was I supposed to clean up?” Blaine asked. Well, slurred really.

Kurt still stared at him as if he’d spontaneously grown another head before his gaze shifted to Puck and turned into a glare again. “What the fuck have you been _doing_?”

“I had to work, Hummel,” Puck explained, sounding much more sober than Blaine felt right now. “They helped me and then we came here.”

“You were cleaning swimming pools,” Kurt asked, very carefully and with no inflection in his voice. Uh oh, that didn’t bode well. Kurt always sounded like that when he was _really_ mad and nobody wanted to see the aftermath of that. Blaine certainly didn’t.

“It’s okay, Kurt,” he assured him, patting his knee. Or, well, aimed for his knee and landed somewhere near his groin, making Kurt yelp in surprise. “I had fun,” he added, smiling at Kurt.

His gaze settled on Blaine, drifting over his face and trying to read him. Blaine never stopped smiling, giving off as many vibes of being comfortable and happy as he could. It seemed to work. Kurt’s whole demeanor changed when he said, “You really did, didn’t you?”

Blaine’s smile only grew and Kurt shook his head, finally admitting defeat. “Okay, but we _have to_ sober you up before the party starts.” He cast a meaningful look around the table. “And I mean _all_ of you!”

“What’s the point?” Puck mumbled. “We’re going to be sloshed by the end of the night anyway.”

“That may be the case,” Kurt said, glaring at him again. “But that doesn’t mean you need a two hour head start on everyone else.”

“I’ll get some coffee,” Rachel said, still looking a little amused. Kurt raised his head to look at her.

“Could you get Blaine some water, too? I fear he’ll have the hangover from hell tomorrow if I don’t hydrate him soon,” he asked her. She smiled, nodded and walked away to get their beverages.

“So, are you two okay now?” Blaine mumbled against Kurt neck. And wait, when did his head fall back on Kurt’s shoulder? Not that he cared because it was comfy and Kurt still smelled so, _so_ nice.

“Yes, we’re okay now,” Kurt replied quietly. Then his hand was in Blaine’s hair and stroked it back from his face and Blaine never wanted to move ever again.


	11. Chapter 11

“I can’t believe you went _pool cleaning_ with _Puck_ ,” Kurt said two hours later, after Blaine had downed two cups of coffee and three glasses of water on Kurt’s insistence. Blaine had to admit that he wasn’t quite so drunk anymore and could walk straight again, but he wasn’t exactly sober now either.

It didn’t matter, really, because Kurt’s arm was around his waist while they made their way over to the bar where the bachelorette party was held. Everything was fine in the world when Kurt voluntarily had his arm slung around Blaine’s waist. He was deliciously warm against Blaine’s side and his hand rested on Blaine’s hip and yes, even after spending two hours in a sports bar, Kurt smelled amazing!

“It was surprisingly fun,” Blaine admitted. His own hand, resting on Kurt’s hip, tightened a little. “And he told me he’s considering moving his business out to California.”

That got Kurt’s attention. “Seriously?”

Blaine shrugged. “He’s still doing the math but yes, looks like it.”

Kurt shook his head. “I thought he’d given up that plan while he was still in high school and wanted Finn to be his business partner.”

Blaine snorted. “I don’t think Finn will go with him.” He furrowed his brow before adding, “I’m not even sure if _Finn_ knows what he wants from his life.”

“Trust me, he doesn’t,” Kurt said, patting Blaine’s hip. “He’s been working his way through every course imaginable at the Community College and still hasn’t found anything worth pursuing.”

“Well,” Blaine said, thinking about it for a moment. “I guess he could have it worse? He could be stuck in a job he hates.”

“Fair enough.” They came to a halt in front of an unassuming building. “Okay, we’re here.”

Kurt’s head turned around to check that the other three people in their little party of five were still with them. Puck and Rachel seemed to be absorbed in conversation with Finn trudging along behind them. Kurt seemed a little worried at the sight, but restrained from commenting.

“I still don’t get why they celebrate their last night as unmarried people _together_ ,” Finn mumbled when they drew up to Kurt and Blaine. “I mean, isn’t having two separate parties the whole point? And why are we calling it the bachelor _ette_ party?”

“First of all,” Kurt said, ticking off on his fingers, “it’s their second to last night as unmarried people. Second of all: Mike and Tina insisted. And about the name: Tina is still a feminist, and Mike didn't mind.”

“So there won’t be any strippers?” Puck asked, looking a little disappointed.

Rachel glared at him. “Of course not. We’re classier than that.”

“Well... there’s _one_ stripper,” Finn said, apropos of nothing.

Puck’s face lit up. “That’s right! Sam’s got some _moves_ on him. Bet Tina would appreciate them.”

“Unlike Mike. Or Emily, for that matter,” Kurt replied, glaring now too. “Let’s just go inside.”

He moved forward, taking Blaine with him. Then what they’d been talking about caught up with him. Stumbling over his own feet he exclaimed, “Wait, Sam is a stripper?”

* * *

It took Blaine half an hour and an embarrassing conversation with Sam to find out he wasn’t a stripper _right now_ but that he’d worked as one in the past. Emily had laughed at him for five minutes, starting up again every time she looked at his mortified face.

She redeemed herself later when she confided in a low tone that Sam _still_ had some pretty awesome moves but that she was the only one benefiting from it and it better damn well stay that way. Blaine raised his hands and assured her that he had no designs on her husband. His gaze had moved to Kurt at that, almost involuntarily, and when he’d looked back at her she’d just smiled knowingly at him.

Puck's prediction from earlier about them getting drunk again anyway turned out to be true. Well, in everybody else's case. Blaine actually had quite enough of beer and dubious shots already and steered clear of them. Of course, the women seemed to think he just didn't like the taste much and started plying him with fruity, delicious cocktails and soon enough, he was as buzzed as before.

The only noticeable difference this time was Kurt, sitting right next to Blaine and matching him drink for drink. Blaine couldn't be sure, but it was entirely possible that Kurt was responsible for half the drinks that made it to Blaine. He was _definitely_ responsible for the pitcher of water that accompanied each new round of drinks, for which everyone seemed to be grateful.

The bachelorette party itself was a mixture of drunken antics, reminiscing about days long past, and a pictures slide show of Mike and Tina from their toddler days up until recently. Especially the shots from high school earned much laughter as everyone bemoaned their unfortunate fashion choices. Quinn hid behind her hand in amused embarrassment when a picture of her with pink hair and leather jacket appeared, giving whoever had shot the picture the finger.

Then, of course, there was karaoke, because apparently no party with these people was complete if they didn't sing at one point.

Karaoke was surprisingly fun. Well, not so surprising, Blaine suspected, considering who was in attendance. But yes, fun. Lots of it. At one point even Travis and Nick braved the stage, laughing their way through a Mariah Carey song. Incredible dancers they might be, but singers they were not. Blaine caught Kurt wince next to him whenever they should’ve sung a high note and landed somewhere below it, only vaguely harmonious if they were lucky.

Nobody else seemed to mind. They bowed, silly grins on their faces, after they were done and everyone cheered. Mercedes and Santana took the stage after that, showing the two boys how it was done and giving Blaine so many feelings in the process that his alcohol addled mind couldn’t cope with it. God, their voices were _spectacular_! No wonder Mercedes was as successful as she was, and it was a real shame that Santana had opted to go into pre-med instead of the performing arts. Her future patients sure would’ve liked that more, Blaine was sure, because if Santana was even half as vitriolic with her patients, her bedside manner must be _awful_.

His arm snaked around Kurt’s waist and he pressed himself closer, maybe giving some of his feelings to Kurt who, while looking riveted, didn’t seem quite as affected by the singing as Blaine. Probably because he’d had time to acclimate to their voices in high school, lucky bastard. Kurt looked down at him when Blaine squeezed him closer, a question in his eyes, but Blaine only hid his face in Kurt’s shoulder and shook his head. He almost started purring when Kurt’s hand came up and buried itself in Blaine’s hair to soothe him.

Of course, them being, well, _them_ , it didn’t take long to get out the meaningful songs after they’d sung their way through the Karaoke classics. Surprisingly enough, it was _Puck_ who started it. He climbed the stage, with a guitar he’d found who-knew-where hanging around his neck.

“I know this is, like, not my show, but I guess the happy couple won’t mind if some of us try to get in on the happily ever after action, too,” he said, sounding much more sober than Blaine would’ve thought after three hours of drinking. His gaze wandered over to Mike and Tina and couldn’t help the grin spreading over his face. Tina was sitting in Mike’s lap and they’d obviously just been making out when Puck’s announcement came. Tina looked over her shoulder, raised her fist into the air and yelled, “Go get her, Puck!”

Puck scoffed into the mic. “We’ll see about that,” he said, then started the opening bars of his song.

It didn’t take Blaine long to recognize it. When he did, his gaze automatically moved over to Rachel who, while listening with one ear to the song, was clearly in the middle of a conversation with Quinn and didn’t pay Puck as much attention as he’d probably hoped.

As soon as the first words came out of Puck’s mouth, crooned in a rich, full baritone, Kurt completely froze up next to him. Blaine was confused for a moment, not quite getting it because it wasn’t like Puck _knew_ they’d been lying or that Blaine was head over heels in love with his best friend. And even if, surely Puck wouldn't be _that_ invested in their happiness to sing them a song, especially not _this_ song.

Blaine stared at Kurt's face from the side, suddenly realizing that Kurt was studiously not looking at Blaine. That's when he figured it out, and he almost curled in on himself at the impact the realization had on him.

Kurt was afraid Puck had figured _him_ out. It had obviously not even occurred to Kurt that Puck might be singing to Rachel, to let her know that he felt more for her than just friendship. Oh god, did that mean what Blaine hoped it meant?

There was only one way to find out.

Blaine waited for a certain line in the song, his breath flat and his heart beating frantically in his chest. If he was _wrong_ he could lose so much and _God_ why _this_ song of all songs? But then the chorus petered out, Blaine took a deep breath and started to sing quietly alongside Puck, for Kurt’s ears only.

“ _If I should be so bold_ ,” he crooned, taking Kurt’s hand in his and startling him into looking at Blaine. Not taking his eyes away for a second, he put Kurt’s hand against his chest while singing, “ _I'd ask you to hold my heart in your hand._ ” They stared at each other through Puck’s, “ _Tell you from the start how I’ve longed to be your man_.”

The rest of the song got kind of blurry after that. Kurt wasn’t breathing, at least he didn’t look like he was breathing. There were so many questions in his eyes right now and yes, they’d said they’d talk about the kissing and groping from yesterday but what if they didn’t need to because they were already on the same page? Blaine dared to hope for the first time since he’d realized he loved Kurt, his heart beating frantically under Kurt’s hand that was still resting on his chest.

He dimly heard “ _And all I really want from you is to feel me_ ” when Kurt’s hand on his chest tightened into a fist, grasping the material of his shirt and pulling Blaine closer and closer until their foreheads rested against each other. Their noses almost touched and Blaine exhaled carefully, feeling a puff of warm breath against his lips. He licked them, more out of reflex than any intention to drive Kurt wild, which he seemed to manage anyway if the bitten off moan was any indication.

Blaine was instantly, painfully hard.

He would’ve probably crawled into Kurt’s lap and started making out with him right then and there if people around them hadn’t started clapping all of a sudden. Blaine’s head shot up, blinking at the now abandoned mic stand in confusion. Oh, so Puck had finished his song apparently. He tried to spot him, but he was nowhere in sight.

Neither was Rachel, for that matter.

A smile curled his lips when he turned his head back to look at Kurt. “Guess he got his girl after all.”

Kurt’s only response was to pull him in again until Blaine face-planted into Kurt’s neck. Inhaling deeply, his cock gave an enthusiastic twitch in his pants. He couldn’t help but kiss the soft skin under his lips, soft and flawless and so so gorgeous. His mouth trailed down licking a vein, then back up until his lips came to rest under Kurt’s jaw, sucking lightly. Kurt’s hand was back in Blaine’s hair, tightening encouragingly.

It pretty much went out of control from there.

Now, Blaine had always been a fan of heavy make out sessions. He just hadn’t known that he had an exhibitionism kink, too. Apparently Kurt and his body and his smell and his _everything_ reduced him to basic brain functions only. They never stopped kissing for more than a second or two, mostly to just stare at each other, before their mouths crushed together again, lips and tongues and teeth winding Blaine up higher and higher until he barely knew where he was. He didn’t care that he moaned wantonly around Kurt’s tongue, or that they had company who got an eye full. The only thing he cared about was Kurt’s hand in his hair pulling him forward, encouraging him to deepen their kisses or suck harder on Kurt’s collar bone. Which Blaine did, gladly.

It was only a matter of time before one of them got at least enough brain function back to realize that they couldn't continue like this, at least not _here_. They got a cab back to the hotel, under the cheers and hollers of Kurt's friends which made him blush furiously, but Blaine only smirked, let his hand wander down to Kurt's hip and squeeze it before they exited the bar and got into the cab.

Whenever Blaine had idly fantasized about what it would be like if he and Kurt would ever actually _do it_ , he'd imagined some long winded confessions about mutual feelings, maybe a few dates before they ever actually did anything.

Nothing could've prepared him for the hunger he felt churning in his gut, this deep-seated desire to touch, taste, _claim_ that came over him as soon as he looked into Kurt's prettily flushed face, looked at his lust-clouded eyes, watched his hands rest on his thighs so _so_ close to his crotch. Really, nobody could blame Blaine that, as soon as the door to their hotel room slid shut, he pressed Kurt against it and kissed him deep, moaning into his mouth when Kurt surged forward to meet him eagerly.

Blaine's hands slid over Kurt's cheeks, buried themselves in Kurt's thick hair while he sucked on his tongue. He couldn't get enough of Kurt's scent and his taste and him _period_. He'd never thought he would get the chance to do all this with Kurt and he rejoiced in it, eagerly nipping on his full lower lip and pulling it into his mouth before his tongue slid back between Kurt's lips. That earned him another groan from deep within Kurt's chest and his hand fumbled with Blaine's shirt, trying to find a way under it and whining in frustration when it didn't come out of Blaine's pants fast enough.

But then he managed, and his hand found warmsmooth _hot_ skin and Blaine's forehead landed on Kurt's shoulder, his hips snapping forward when Kurt's hand slid upward. Then it changed directions, going down down _down_ until it grabbed Blaine's ass and _pulled_. Their cocks rubbed against each other through their pants, making them both gasp and roll their hips again and again. Blaine was sure he could do this all night but then Kurt's hand slid into his pants and grabbed a handful of Blaine's ass cheek.

"God, _Kurt_ ," he groaned against Kurt's neck. His lips trailed upwards while his hips snapped forward again, seeking friction against Kurt's hip.

"I want to blow you," he breathed against Kurt's ear, earning himself a full body shiver and a small whimper. "Let me blow you," Blaine plead, his hand running down Kurt's chest to his crotch, rubbing his length encouragingly. Kurt gasped, his head falling back against the door with a soft thud. "Let me show you how good I can make you feel," Blaine murmured against Kurt's lips, giving them a soft peck before he slid down to his knees, his hands fumbling with the button and zipper of Kurt's tight _tight_ pants. His own fingers were shaking from anticipation and lust and everything else in between, but he managed to open them after only a few moments. With a small, devilish grin up at Kurt, he swiftly pulled the fabric down, taking Kurt's underwear with them too.

And then he stared.

Blaine had always suspected that Kurt was beautiful all over, but looking at his cock now only confirmed his conviction. He was _breathtaking_. Blaine's fingers shook when he slid them carefully over Kurt's length, making him gasp at that simple touch alone. He looked up into Kurt's flushed face, at his open mouth and his lust blown eyes and couldn't help it: he leaned forward and licked over the head, sucking the tip into his mouth to taste and feel and _consume_ everything that was Kurt. A hand found its way into Blaine's hair and tugged lightly, but he didn't care. If anything, the heady scent surrounding him now made him wild, eager to please Kurt in any way he could. He let the tip go, trailing his lips slowly down until he could kiss the base of Kurt's cock. Inhaling deeply, he moaned throatily at how _turned on_ he was by Kurt's scent alone.

He rained kisses around the base of Kurt's cock, sucking it lightly before mouthing his way up his length again, licking it around his fingers that were still holding it. When the tip nudged against his lips, begging to be let in, Blaine opened his mouth and, searching Kurt's gaze, slowly sank down his length until his lips met his fist.

"Oh fuck, _Blaine_!" Kurt moaned, looking riveted and _destroyed_ but so fucking _blissful_ that Blaine couldn't help the eager moan escaping him. Kurt echoed him mere moments later, his hips snapping forward reflexively, but Blaine was ready for it, letting Kurt's cock slide deeper into his mouth, feeling it nudge against the back of his throat. It'd been a while since he'd last deep throated anyone but the thought alone, that Kurt _could_ , made his mouth water in anticipation. But not yet, they would have to work up to that first.

So Blaine slid back up, giving the tip an extra hard suck to hear Kurt moan and feel his hand tighten in Blaine's hair. He smiled around Kurt's cock while he bobbed up and down, licking and sucking him enthusiastically and taking Kurt a little bit deeper with every downward stroke. After a while he let Kurt's cock slide out of his mouth, threw another look up at him through his eyelashes. When he saw Kurt's eyes closed and his head thrown back against the door again, he slid down the underside of Kurt's cock, mouth open and his lips sliding smoothly over the soft, velvety skin. He licked the veins on his way back up, sucking the tip into his mouth yet again while jacking Kurt off a little, his hand now properly lubed by his own spit.

"Blaine," Kurt breathed above him, his hand tightening in Blaine's hair rhythmically. His body was shivering and his hips rolled forward to meet Blaine's mouth. He grinned in anticipation, let his hand that was encircling Kurt's cock slide down to his balls and, cradling them carefully, he closed his eyes, let his throat relax and swallowed Kurt whole.

" _Oh my_ god _!_ " Kurt almost yelled, his hand in Blaine's hair tightening into a fist and yanking on it. His hips snapped forward, driving his cock deeper into Blaine's throat, and he moaned and swallowed eagerly. It'd been _years_ since he'd last done this, since he'd _wanted_ to, and his own cock was painfully hard in his pants while he sucked and licked around Kurt's cock, bobbing up and down on it and letting it slide back into his throat as often as he could.

He felt Kurt's body start to tremble in earnest after only a few minutes, and the feeling of _pride_ he felt at making Kurt come undone so completely and so fast almost undid him too. He groaned again around the cock in his mouth, making Kurt lose all control over his body. Blaine let him, slid both his hands to Kurt's ass and encouraged him with a tuck to fuck Blaine's mouth.

And he did, snapping his hips forward in increasingly shorter thrusts until he stilled completely, yelled something that could've been Blaine's name, and came over Blaine's tongue in thick spurts. Blaine moaned, taking it all and lapping at Kurt's cock when he stopped pulsing into Blaine's mouth. With a last, parting lick and kiss to the tip, he let it slide out of his mouth and sat back on his heels, looking back up at Kurt.

He looked _wrecked_. His eyes were closed, his head fallen back into his neck. He was panting open mouthed and his lips looked like he'd bitten them to stay quiet. His chest was heaving, making him look like he'd just run a marathon.

He looked absolutely _beautiful_ and Blaine wanted to do this for the rest of his life.

Suddenly Kurt's knees gave out and he slid down to the floor until he was kneeling in front of Blaine, looking at him with wonder in his eyes. Then he surged forward, grabbed Blaine's neck and pulled him into a deep, hungry kiss. His tongue swept into Blaine's mouth, probably searching for his own taste and moaning against Blaine's lips when he found it. Then he pushed against Blaine's shoulder until he fell back on the carpet, with Kurt lying down on top of him, still kissing and groping for the button on Blaine's pants.

Blaine's hips snapped up, his cock begging for Kurt's attention. As soon as Kurt's fingers had found the zipper and pulled it down, his hand slid into Blaine's underwear and closed around his hot, hard length. Blaine gasped when the ball of heat in his gut suddenly exploded into a fire of want that consumed his whole body. His head thumped back down onto the carpet and his eyes slid closed at the sheer _bliss_ he felt from Kurt's hand around his cock.

But then it was gone and he whined, his eyes snapping open to look at Kurt who _was licking his hand_ like it was a popsicle before he slid it back into Blaine's pants, closing it tightly around Blaine's throbbing cock.

"Unbelievable," Kurt mumbled against Blaine's lips, kissing him shallowly while stroking up and down his length, making Blaine forget where he was and what day it was and _when_ it was because the only thing that counted was Kurt, lying on top of him and stroking him and _making him feel good_ and _fuck_ whatever he'd done with his wrist just then was absolutely _brilliant_.

It took Blaine embarrassingly little time until he could feel his orgasm sneak up on him. The tingling feeling started in his toes, making its way through his whole body and he slid an arm around Kurt's neck and pulled him down to kiss him deep and hard and messy. And then he was gone, surging up into Kurt's fist and coming so hard that he saw stars behind his closed eyes. His mouth slid away from Kurt's, resting against his neck and sucking on it, not knowing anything anymore except that he had Kurt here with him and they'd just had the best sex of Blaine's entire life and that he never wanted it to end, ever again.

They lay there on the floor for a long time, Blaine trembling from the aftershocks with Kurt still half on top of him and his head on Blaine's shoulder. At one point they managed to pick themselves up from the floor, shedding their clothes on the way to the bed. When they slid naked beneath the sheets, they found each other in the middle of the bed, sliding together like two puzzle pieces that'd always belonged together and had finally found a way to fit.

Blaine slid an arm around Kurt's waist, pressed a soft, lingering kiss against the back of Kurt's neck, closed his eyes and fell asleep between one breath and the next.


	12. Chapter 12

For the first time since Monday, Blaine managed to wake up before Kurt. He blinked his eyes open, feeling relaxed and disgustingly good for some reason, and then he remembered the night before and how responsive Kurt had been, kissing him stupid and getting him off with deft fingers. A grin formed on Blaine's face and he turned his head on the pillow, looking at Kurt's still sleeping form.

He was so gorgeous. Blaine's heart pounded heavily in his chest while his gaze traveled over Kurt's face, took in the lovely shape of his eyebrows and his cheekbones and his eyelashes fanning over them and his fucking _everything_. Blaine reached out with his hand and stroked the tip of his finger over Kurt's slightly parted lips, shivering a little when warm breath ghosted over it. Kurt's nose scrunched up in sleep, probably reacting to the stimuli, but he didn't open his eyes so Blaine continued to watch him, content and happy.

He was starting to feel a little creepy about watching Kurt sleep and had turned to look up at the ceiling, contemplating if he should take a shower, when Kurt started to wake up. Blaine couldn’t help the smile blooming on his face for no other reason than that he’d be able to look at Kurt and talk to him soon. His head turned back and he could see Kurt’s eyes blink open, looking confused for a moment before his gaze settled on Blaine’s face. A slow smile appeared on Kurt’s face and his eyes closed again, obviously content, and Blaine’s chest almost burst with happiness.

But then Kurt shot up in bed, staring at him and his rumpled state and his eyes widened in horror. “Shit, this wasn’t supposed to happen!”

Everything in Blaine froze up. His smile dropped immediately and his throat closed up in panic. Oh god, Kurt regretted it. Kurt _regretted_ their night together and _fuck_ what was he going to _do_? He had to get out of here.

Kurt’s hand shot forward, clamping down on Blaine’s wrist before he could move more than an inch, his other hand sliding to his neck and squeezing it tightly.

“No, no, no, Blaine,” Kurt chanted, his voice soothing and urgent, pulling at Blaine until their foreheads rested against each other. “That’s not what I meant, I swear. Don’t go, please. Don’t go.”

Blaine’s heart was still beating rapidly in his chest from the surge of adrenaline, the thought of being _rejected_ by Kurt, but he calmed down slowly, listening to Kurt’s soothing voice and his reassuring words. His eyes closed for a second while he breathed Kurt in, before he rotated his hand so he could clasp Kurt’s in a tight grip.

“What _did_ you mean, then?” he asked quietly, looking down at their entwined hands.

Kurt sighed, tightening his hand on Blaine’s neck.

“Remember how I promised you we would _talk_ about what happened at the lake?” he asked, equally quiet. Blaine nodded. Kurt laughed under his breath. “Well, I wanted to talk to you first before...”

He trailed off, apparently at a loss for words. Blaine didn’t have that problem.

“Before we have sex?” he asked, finding it in himself to tease Kurt a little about being flustered.

Kurt’s head pulled back so he could look into Blaine’s eyes. He looked endearingly serious.

“I told Rachel everything.”

Blaine blinked, surprised and a little confused how Rachel suddenly became a topic of this conversation.

“I mean, not the part where I deliberately tried to hurt her,” Kurt continued, babbling a little, “but pretty much the rest of it. How I panicked when people kept asking me if I had a boyfriend and that your name slipped out. And when she asked me if there was a reason I told everyone _your_ name I told her...”

Once again, Kurt trailed off, but this time he seemed to need courage to continue his sentence. After a deep breath, he finished, “I told her that I’ve been in love with you for years.”

Blaine stopped breathing, but his heart rate picked up immediately. Kurt had... Kurt had... and Blaine was...

He couldn’t _think_ from all the different thoughts running through his head at lightning speed right now. All he really noticed right now where Kurt’s blue eyes, wide and open and looking trusting and a lot scared at him. But before Blaine could say anything, could even begin to form words to describe the shock and joy he felt right now, Kurt added, “And I wanted to tell you that before anything happened. _If_ anything ever happened because... well, I wasn’t sure. About you. And then Puck sang that _song_ yesterday and I thought _for sure_ Rachel had told him everything and I was so furious and _scared_ that I would lose you because of that but then you-”

Blaine cut him off by pressing his lips against Kurt’s, startling him into a gasp. Blaine swallowed it, sliding his tongue into Kurt’s mouth and drinking him in, tasting him once more and feeling elated and happy about it. Kurt’s hand on his neck tightened again, pulling him closer and encouraging him to keep going. His thumb slid up and pressed against Blaine’s jaw, opening his mouth wider and making him groan in the process.

The kiss stopped eventually, their lips lingering against each other. Blaine’s brain was still scrambled but he had to tell Kurt how utterly _not_ alone he was with his feelings.

“You have no idea how long I’ve...” he started and trailed off in favor of kissing Kurt’s mouth once again. “... I’ve wanted to _do_ things with you...” Another kiss interrupted his speech. He just couldn’t get enough of Kurt’s mouth. “... and Kurt how could I _not_? I’ve been stupidly crazy about you for _years_!” He breathed that last part against Kurt’s lips before he deepened the kiss once again, rendering them both incapable of saying anything at all. Judging by Kurt’s hand running over his arm to his shoulder and pulling Blaine half on top of him, they seemed to be on the same page at last.

“I wasn’t sure,” Kurt panted several minutes later against Blaine’s neck, kissing his way down to his shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if last night or the night before were because of the alcohol. I wanted to be sure. I wanted _you_ to be sure.”

“I’ve never been surer about anything in my life,” Blaine promised, lowering his head to suck on one of Kurt’s nipples, making him moan and arch against Blaine’s mouth. “And I definitely don’t need alcohol to find you extremely attractive, Kurt,” he added, his lips ghosting over Kurt’s chest. He looked up at him through his lashes, giving him a mischievous grin.

Kurt’s lips were parted but his eyes looked so fond that Blaine couldn’t breathe for a second. Kurt’s fingers stroked over Blaine’s cheek before he cupped it in his palm. Blaine couldn’t help but lean into it, closing his eyes and trusting Kurt with his heart.

“You have no idea how gorgeous you are,” Kurt breathed, wonder in his voice. Blaine couldn’t help the smile stretching his lips and he tried to hide it by pressing a lingering kiss against Kurt’s chest, right over his heart. Kurt’s breath caught.

“I love you,” Blaine whispered against Kurt’s skin. “So much that this week almost drove me to _insanity_ thinking that you don’t feel the same.”

“I do, Blaine,” Kurt whispered urgently, pulling on his shoulder until Blaine slid up and they were face to face again. “I do feel the same.”

“Okay,” he whispered against Kurt’s lips before kissing him. It was tender, and not hurried at all, unlike all the other kisses they’d shared so far. It was heady and overwhelming and Blaine wouldn’t have wanted to trade with anyone in the world right now.

Of course, the innocent kiss couldn’t last, and it spiraled out of control pretty fast when Blaine’s cock accidentally pressed against Kurt’s hip. He’d been half hard ever since Kurt had confessed his feelings, but when his cock slid against warm, smooth skin, a surge of heat shot through his body and made him gasp against Kurt’s lips. Kurt swallowed it, answering with a moan of his own and pulling Blaine properly on top of him.

As soon as their cocks brushed against each other, they both moaned loudly. Blaine couldn’t help the involuntary thrust down against hot, tight, damp skin. He pressed his open mouth against the side of Kurt’s neck, breathing heavily against it while his hand slid down between their bodies, and encircled both their cocks at once.

Kurt whined high in his throat, his head thrown back into the pillow while he sought friction from Blaine’s hand. Blaine kissed Kurt's neck, mouthing his way up until he could latch onto the patch of skin right under Kurt’s jaw and _suck_. Kurt’s whine turned into a deep groan and his hand in Blaine’s hair tightened into a fist.

“We can’t,” Kurt panted, his voice wrecked. Blaine’s head shot up, disbelief in his eyes. Kurt struggled to open his eyes and look at him, but he managed and added a breathless, “No condoms.”

Blaine could practically feel the evil smile grow on his face before he leaned down again, pressed his lips against Kurt’s ear and breathed, “We won’t need them.”

In a flash, he slid down until he was level with Kurt’s cock, threw another grin up at him and then sank his mouth in one smooth glide over Kurt’s hard length. Kurt shouted something, patting at Blaine’s head, but Blaine was on a mission here. He sucked sloppily and enthusiastically, leaving Kurt’s cock wet and harder than before when he finally let up. He looked at it, lying against Kurt’s stomach before nodding, satisfied.

He slid back up, then grabbed Kurt’s thigh, raised it and slung it over his hip. His hand slid between their bodies yet again, adjusted the angle of his cock until it lined up with Kurt’s once more, and thrust down.

It was like a shock to his whole system, running through him like electricity. Kurt seemed to be in the same boat. His other leg came up around Blaine’s waist and his arms wound themselves around Blaine’s neck, pulling his head down until he could kiss him deeply. They moaned into each other’s mouths when their cocks slid against each other, creating delicious friction just this side of being too much.

“Insane,“ Kurt mumbled into Blaine’s mouth, biting his lower lip. “You’re insane.”

“You love me,” Blaine panted back.

Kurt laughed, breathless. “I do,” he groaned before Blaine licked his way back into his mouth.

It didn’t take them all that long after that. They’d both been rather celibate for the last year, and with all their emotions tied into the whole act and it being all new and exciting, it almost was a surprise for Blaine when the heat in his gut exploded, making him gasp against Kurt’s lips before he came between their bodies. Kurt’s grip on his shoulders tightened in response, making breathless sounds while his hips snapped up in an increasingly frantic rhythm before he followed Blaine over the edge.

They lay there, both trying to catch their breaths. Blaine knew he must be heavy, lying more on top of Kurt than by his side, but he couldn’t make his limbs work just yet. And anyway, Kurt didn’t seem to mind, judging by the tight grip he still had on Blaine’s shoulders.

They did move eventually, with Blaine sliding to the side carefully. Kurt turned immediately, slinging his arm over Blaine’s waist and pressing close again. Blaine puffed a laugh against Kurt’s throat but didn’t object.

"That was a really stupid thing to do," Kurt mumbled against Blaine’s shoulder after several long minutes of silence.

Blaine frowned. “Hm?” he hummed, confused.

Kurt’s hand slid down his back slowly, trailing down his spine and back up, making Blaine shiver.

“Blowing me without using a condom,” Kurt clarified.

“Oh,” Blaine breathed, thinking about last night and just now. But he really wasn’t worried because, "I trust you."

That made Kurt freeze. His hand stopped on Blaine’s back, curling into a loose fist briefly. Then Kurt sighed, still not looking at Blaine and opting to hide his face in Blaine's shoulder instead. "Maybe you shouldn't," he whispered after a moment. "I already hurt you."

Blaine’s heart ached at the forlorn tone in Kurt’s voice. He shrugged his shoulder until Kurt raised his head, giving him an irritated look. Blaine couldn’t help the small smile when he saw it, but he bit down on it when he raised his hand to cup Kurt’s cheek and said quietly, "But that's how it works.”

When he only received a puzzled frown, he added, “We're going to hurt each other once in a while, Kurt. That's part of being in love: knowing your lover so well that you have the power to hurt them the most."

Kurt stared at him, eyes wide and terrified. His hand slid up, over Blaine’s neck and cheek to his forehead where he pushed away a few unruly strands. "It's scary to have that much power over someone else," he said quietly, fear and wonder evident on his face.

Blaine’s smile reappeared. "Then use it wisely."

It took a moment, but Kurt smiled back after a while. It was almost shy. "I will,” he said, affectionate. “I promise." Then he leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss against Blaine’s lips.

"We're still going to get tested as soon as we're back in New York,” he added after a moment, making Blaine laugh in surprise.

"Okay," he replied, still chuckling, before pulling Kurt in for another kiss.

* * *

They probably would’ve spent the whole day in bed if Kurt’s phone hadn’t gone off. It was Rachel, asking them where they were and if they’d forgotten that there was a dress rehearsal today at the reception hall, for the performances? They actually _had_ forgotten about that, in the midst of discovering their feelings for each other, but Kurt promised her they hadn’t, they would be on their way shortly and not to get her knickers in a twist. Then he hung up.

“So,” Blaine started while he was buttoning up his shirt after a quick shower. “You told Rachel everything.”

In all the excitement about finally being able to touch Kurt and make him come whenever he pleased, Blaine had put that little tidbit of information aside for later. Well, no time like the present, as they used to say.

Kurt shrugged his shoulder. “I did.”

“Care to explain why?” Blaine asked, looking for his shoes.

Kurt was quiet for a moment, maybe sorting through his thoughts or maybe just trying to avoid the subject altogether, but then he said, “I used to tell her everything. _We_ used to tell each other everything. After you’d blown up at me and I realized that I was being unfair to her, that I needed to talk to her... it wasn’t really hard to open up again, after I’d finally arrived at the conclusion that I needed to grow up and stop being a dick. And I felt like she deserved to know the truth.”

“So that’s your modus operandi? Telling her everything?” Blaine asked, smiling at Kurt to show him he was okay with it. He was still a little confused about the fact that Rachel deserved to know the truth before Burt did, but he trusted Kurt's instincts.

Kurt smiled back. “Pretty much. She'll keep quiet. She’s still guarding some secrets from our high school days, and I asked her not to tell anyone about the lie. She just said that it wasn’t her place to tell anyway and then asked me a lot of questions about our friendship.”

“So that’s why you told her your feelings for me?”

Kurt shrugged again. “It felt right to tell her. And she did advice me to man up and talk to you about my feelings. Why do you think I was so upset when I found you drunk with Finn and Puck?”

Blaine groaned in embarrassment, putting a hand over his eyes. “Oh god, please don’t remind me.”

“You were adorable,” Kurt dismissed Blaine’s mortification. “Still, I’d been ready to talk to you about everything, but then you were in that state and I just couldn’t and it was driving me mad.”

“Well, we did get it together in the end,” Blaine said, running his hand up Kurt’s arm until it came to rest against Kurt’s neck.

Kurt smiled softly, sliding his hand over Blaine's hip and making him shiver in anticipation. “Yes, we did.”

They kissed, slow and unhurried, but they were mindful of the time and hurried out the door to the waiting cab that drove them to the reception hall.

When they arrived, walking inside hand in hand, Rachel took one look at them before grinning knowingly. Blaine could feel the blush rise on his cheeks, but he didn’t mind so much. He was in love, and he was loved back so to hell with everyone else.

They warmed up and sang their way through their two church pieces before moving on to the choreography for their other two songs. Travis had brought Nick along this time, and while Travis was standing in the front showing the steps, Nick was walking through their lines and helped them out when they were lost. They were a good team, and in no time even Finn had the steps down.

“Hey, we haven’t rehearsed ‘At Last’ yet,” Archie said when they were cooling down.

Rachel’s gaze found Kurt’s and he nodded at her. She smiled, turning back to Artie. “That one will be a duet from me and Kurt, and we already practiced it at length yesterday.”

Everyone looked surprised, including Blaine. This was the first time he’d heard of it.

“So you finally made up?” Santana piped up, looking between the two of them.

Rachel and Kurt exchanged another, longer look. Then Kurt nodded. “Yes, we have.”

“‘bout time,” Mercedes said. “This was getting ridiculous.”

There were agreeing voices all around and Kurt ducked his head. Blaine leaned over, pressed their shoulders together and smiled reassuringly at him. Kurt seemed to appreciate it. He reached for Blaine’s hand, squeezed it and then put both their hands into his lap. Blaine beamed.

They dispersed pretty soon after that, agreeing to meet at the church tomorrow morning before exchanging hugs and leaving in their respective directions. Kurt and Blaine stood outside of the reception hall with Quinn and Santana when the latter asked, “You guys need a ride back to the hotel?”

Blaine gave Kurt a questioning look but he already shook his head. “I’d like to go see my dad. Spend some more time with him.”

Quinn smiled. “We could give you a lift? Saves you the cab fare.”

“That would be great,” Blaine said before Kurt could ask them if they were sure. If he’d learned anything about Quinn over the past week, it was that she rarely said anything she didn’t mean.

“Where to?” Santana asked as soon as they had all piled into the car.

“The house,” Kurt answered, earning himself a surprised look from Blaine. He didn’t even have to voice his question before Kurt explained, “It’s his home office day.”

“Ah.” Blaine nodded, relaxing back into his seat.

“You don’t have to come if you’d rather do something else,” Kurt said suddenly, talking quietly to give them a modicum of privacy.

Blaine gave him a surprised look. “No, I’d love to come.” He hesitated before adding quietly, “I like your dad.”

Kurt gave him a breathtaking smile for that and nothing in this world could’ve kept Blaine from accompanying Kurt to see his dad. Not if it made Kurt this happy. Because Blaine, he was realizing rather quickly, wanted nothing more in this world than to make Kurt happy for the rest of his life.

* * *

They said quick goodbyes to Quinn and Santana when they rolled up in front of Kurt’s old home, then made their way to the front door. Before either of them could knock or ring the bell, the door opened by itself, revealing a puzzled looking Burt Hummel.

“Kurt,” he said, sounding surprised. “Didn’t think I’d see you again before Sunday morning.”

Kurt smiled and shrugged. “I thought you might appreciate my unexpected company, considering that you complain all the time about not seeing me enough.”

Burt’s face morphed into a grin before waving them both inside. “We can’t have that, now can we?”

He enveloped Kurt in a quick, tight hug before smiling at Blaine. “Good to see you again, Blaine.”

“Likewise, Burt,” he said, remembering at the last second that he now had permission to use the man’s first name. The approving nod he received only made him feel more welcome.

“So what have you boys been up to since Tuesday?”

Kurt launched into a detailed account of what had been going on since they’d last seen each other. He even told his dad about finally having it out with Rachel to which Burt only nodded and mumbled, “‘bout time, too.”

At one point Burt asked them if they’d like to stay for dinner. He’d planned to start up the grill, make it the first barbecue of the season. When Kurt glared at him he laughed and said, “Don’t worry, kiddo. Even vegetables taste better when roasted on a grill.”

“You’re actually roasting vegetables?” Kurt asked in disbelief. Burt looked unimpressed.

“I’m willing to compromise a whole lot if I get some barbecue out of it,” he said. “And it’s not like Carole would let me eat steak anyway. So will you stay or not?”

“We’ll stay,” Kurt said decisively. Blaine hid his mouth behind his hand so they wouldn’t see him smile.

It turned out that Burt really had been looking forward to his first barbecue of the season. When he opened the fridge and started pulling out a number of different vegetables, among them zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and some corn cobs, Kurt’s eyes widened in surprise and he didn’t even say anything about the chicken breasts Burt pulled out along with the vegetables and started to marinate with mustard, onions and honey.

Kurt gave Blaine a quick head nod to the counter and gave him a cutting board and a knife before they started cutting the vegetables into appropriate pieces that could be grilled later. Burt looked over at them for a moment and smiled down at his chicken, not saying anything.

Blaine had never felt so at peace with anyone in his life. Maybe it should scare him how fast he was getting used to this, having Kurt by his side and having his full attention whenever he desired it, but it really _really_ didn't. It was everything he'd ever wanted for himself, after all, and sharing it with Kurt was just the icing on the cake.

They worked side by side for a while, with Burt leaving them alone for only a few minutes to fire up the grill. Blaine was meticulously cutting long, medium thick slices of zucchini when Kurt said quietly, “I’ve never seen him eat vegetables voluntarily before.”

Blaine gave him a puzzled look and Kurt shook his head. “It’s just... he changed so much over the years I wasn’t here. It scares me a little sometimes. And then I think, ‘Good for him, I want him around for a long time’.”

Blaine’s heart went out to him when he saw the look on Kurt’s face, how scared he was to lose his dad and trying to be brave about it. Putting the knife down, he slung his arms around Kurt’s waist, tipped his chin up with a finger and pressed a slow, lingering kiss against Kurt’s lips. When they parted they were both smiling.

“What was that for?” Kurt asked, rubbing a hand over Blaine’s back.

Blaine shrugged. “No reason.” Then he went back to cutting his share of zucchinis.

Carole came home when Burt started putting the baked potatoes on the grill. She was surprised but obviously delighted to see Kurt and Blaine in the backyard with her husband and gave each of them a short kiss on the cheek before excusing herself to go change.

The food was delicious and their conversations carefree and relaxed with a lot of laughter. Blaine had grown up in a boarding school. While young boys could be loud and boisterous, there had still been times where Blaine felt alone in a sea of people, and all he wanted was a quiet dinner with his family. Not that _those_ had happened much while he was still living at home, but the wish had still been there. Experiencing _this_ now just showed Blaine how much he had missed out on when it came to being part of a family.

“Gotta admit, I miss our regular Friday night dinners,” Burt mused after they’d finished, sending Kurt a smile. “I’m glad you’re doing okay and living your life, but sometimes...”

He cut himself off, a wistful look on his face before he shook his head. “Don’t mind me, I’m maudlin.”

“I miss them too, dad,” Kurt whispered, his smile wobbling. Blaine’s hand raised automatically and came to rest on Kurt’s neck, squeezing it gently to calm him down and give him the reassurance that Blaine was there for him. He received a thankful look and smile for it.

They decided to not leave just yet and instead relocated to the backyard with Burt and Carole. Burt sat down on a lounge chair and pulled his wife down with him until she’d settled herself between his legs, leaning against him. Kurt looked indecisive for a brief moment but Blaine made the decision for him, pushed Kurt gently down into the other lounge chair and settled himself between Kurt’s legs. He pulled Kurt’s arms around his waist and leaned back, content and safe and exactly where he wanted to be. His gaze slid briefly over to the other couple and he caught Carole’s conspiratorial smile. She knew exactly how comforting it was to be held by a Hummel man, so he just smiled in return and settled back against Kurt.

And then it hit him, while he was gazing at the sky and let Kurt’s warmth soak into him. He _could_ be part of this family now. To a degree he already was, but now there was no pretending anymore, no lies and no fears that he could never have this for real even though it was exactly what Blaine had been craving his whole life. He closed his eyes in an attempt to stave off the tears threatening to spill over at the sheer enormity of what being part of this family meant to Blaine.

“You okay?” Kurt whispered gently against Blaine’s ear, making him shiver.

He just nodded, pressing himself back against Kurt’s chest. “Just... I love you,” he whispered back, voice raw from emotions.

Kurt’s grip on his waist tightened in answer, then he pressed a kiss under Blaine’s ear and just sat with him there, letting the quiet of the night wash over them. For Blaine, it was the most perfect moment of the whole week, and he was glad he’d been lucky enough to experience it.


	13. Chapter 13

The day of the actual wedding dawned bright and sunny. Blaine managed to wake up before Kurt yet again, wound tight around him with his nose buried against his neck. He was so, so reluctant to leave the bed and their warm, secure blanket cocoon, but he knew how much time Kurt would need to prepare, so he pressed a lingering kiss against his neck, disentangled their limbs and slid out of the bed. This time he didn't bother to take a change of clothes with him into the bathroom. Let Kurt ogle him with just a towel around his hips. Blaine certainly didn't mind.

He was in and out of the shower in ten minutes, then brushed his teeth and shaved carefully before trying to get his wet, unruly hair under control. He sighed, looking dejectedly at it. It never quite did what Blaine wanted it to do unless he doused it in hair gel. He would let Kurt have a shot at it. He had magical hands and always managed it that it looked intentionally tousled instead of like Blaine didn't own a comb.

When he left the bathroom, Kurt's eyes were at half mast and he tracked Blaine's every movement as soon as he caught sight of him. A lazy smile bloomed on his face when Blaine approached the bed. He leaned over the mattress and, bracing himself with a hand next to Kurt's head, pressed a kiss against his lips.

"Morning," he mumbled, smiling back at Kurt who only hummed in answer. "How come you're barely conscious when you wake up and yet you manage to get through your morning routine _and_ be on time all the time?"

Kurt shrugged, letting his hand slide slowly up Blaine's back to pull him closer. "'m waking up during my skin care routine," he mumbled against Blaine's lips before kissing him lazily, making Blaine feel dizzy. He put his knee on the mattress and slowly sank half on top of Kurt so he could bury his hands in Kurt's hair, mussing it up even more in the process. Kurt made an agreeing sound in the back of his throat and returned the kiss enthusiastically.

After a while they came up for air and Kurt pressed his nose against Blaine's neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell nice," he mumbled, trailing a few kisses down his throat until he reached Blaine's collar bone. Blaine groaned, lifting his chin. He really, _really_ didn't want Kurt to stop because it felt way too good to stop. But he knew him too well, and if they didn't stop now they would be so, _so_ late and Kurt would never forgive either of them. He straightened up reluctantly with both hands pressed into the mattress next to Kurt's head.

"That's because I showered and shaved," he replied, smiling a little at Kurt's exaggerated pout when Blaine ducked out of reach. "You'll smell just as nice, if not more, after you're done with your routine. Which..." He trailed off, pushed himself up and took the blanket with him in one fell swoop. "... you really should start on very soon if we want to make it to the church on time."

"Slave driver," Kurt mumbled, but wasn't very convincing. He sighed deeply, raked his hands through his hair and finally sat up to slide out of bed. On his way to the bathroom, his hand trailed over Blaine's naked back, making him shiver. He gave him a last wicked look over his shoulder before he closed the door.

"Tease," Blaine mumbled, shaking his head fondly, then walked over to the wardrobe and started peeling his tux out of its garment bag.

It was still as gorgeous as it'd been when Kurt's friend had packed it up carefully. Blaine's hand slid over one sleeve, relishing the soft, silky material under his fingertips and knowing how amazing it felt on his body when he wore it. He shook his head, opened the door of the wardrobe and took out the white dress shirt Kurt had hung up in there right after they'd checked in on Sunday. He hung it next to his tux and then turned and opened the dresser to find an undershirt.

He was just reaching for his slim black tie when the bathroom door opened and Kurt walked out, clad in the fluffy bathrobe from before. His hair was still wet, and he didn't look like he'd started his skin care yet, but he was freshly shaved at least.

"Let me," Kurt said when he saw Blaine in front of the mirror with the silky garment in his hand. Pulling it out of Blaine's grip, he folded up the collar of the dress shirt, slid the strip of fabric carefully around Blaine's neck and tied it into a perfect Prince Albert knot with a few practiced movements. He tucked it into place at Blaine's throat and smoothed his hand down the length until it sat perfectly against his chest. Their eyes met and Kurt smiled. "All done."

"Thanks," Blaine breathed, leaning forward and pressing their lips together, opening Kurt's mouth up with his tongue when Kurt's arm slid around his neck to tug himself closer, his fingers tightening in the fabric of Blaine's shirt and probably wrinkling it to high heaven. Blaine really didn't give a damn.

They kissed, deep and languidly and Blaine was sorely tempted to strip right out of his shirt and pants and tumble them back down on the bed, when Kurt made a small sound in the back of his throat and stepped back. His cheeks were flushed and his lips red and plump. Blaine wanted to tuck him closer again and continue what they were doing, but Kurt shook his head.

"I need to get ready," he said, his voice a little unsteady, but his hand came to rest on Blaine's shoulder again, smoothing over the wrinkles he'd produced there.

Blaine wanted to argue, but he honestly couldn't. Kurt was right, he had to hurry up now if they wanted to be on time. Plus, Blaine was actually looking forward to the wedding now. All these people had grown on him so much during the week and he really didn't want to disappoint them.

"Go on, then," Blaine said, smiling and waving at the bathroom door. "Can you do my hair later?"

Kurt gave him a look that told him quite clearly he'd never intended for Blaine to do his own hair anyway, before he vanished into the bathroom.

He really must've hurried through his routine because he came out again about half an hour later, walking straight to his own garment bag and opening the zip. A gorgeous piece in steel gray was revealed to Blaine. He hadn't actually seen yet what Kurt was going to wear, but the sleek material made him antsy to observe the tux on Kurt's slim body.

"Let me do your hair before I put this on," Kurt said, pausing in his tracks before he'd actually touched the tux. Blaine didn't question him, just grabbed the tube of hair gel and walked over to Kurt.

He pushed on Blaine's shoulders until he sat down on the bed before he got to work. It was soothing and very relaxing to have Kurt's hands in his hair, kneading it into form and flicking a few strands from one side to the other.

Blaine was in a state of pure bliss that he'd rarely felt before in his life, and he really didn't want to destroy the feeling of contentment surrounding them like a bubble, but this had been weighing on his mind all morning.

"Kurt?" he asked, with eyes closed to better appreciate Kurt's deft fingers in his hair, smoothing over his scalp.

"Hm?"

"Are we going to tell them?"

Kurt's hand froze. Blaine tried to suppress a sigh and opened his eyes. But Kurt didn't look pissed off. He looked thoughtful. Blaine observed him, let him take his time to mull it over in that head of his. Finally, he started stroking through Blaine's hair again, albeit slower than before. He shrugged one shoulder and admitted, "I don't know."

Blaine's heart beat heavily in his chest out of love for this man. Kurt was so torn about this whole lying thing, and being put in the position to decide whether to man up and tell his friends that they'd been lying to them this whole time or better not tell them certainly wasn't easy. It showed what kind of man Kurt was, that he hadn't outright said no to revealing the truth.

"What about your dad?" Blaine asked quietly, knowing that the question had to be posed. Kurt didn't look any happier about that question than the one before that though. He frowned, concentrating hard on Blaine's hair.

In the end he sighed, stopped what he was doing and looked into Blaine's eyes. "What do you suggest?"

Blaine hadn't expected that, and he jolted in surprise. Kurt was asking him what to do about his dad. He'd known Kurt long enough to understand that the bond between Kurt and his dad was _sacred_ and _nobody_ was allowed to put their two cents in. Hearing Kurt ask him his opinion on what to do here humbled Blaine deeply and also made him light headed with pride and love for Kurt.

"I think," he said slowly, giving this the consideration it deserved. "In the end, your dad will be a little disappointed that you felt the need to lie to him, but in the long run he'll be happy for you. That you found someone you love and want to spend your life with."

He held his breath in anticipation of what Kurt would say to that. He didn't expect the small, gentle smile suddenly appearing on his face or the soft look in his blue eyes. "You know," he said, finally putting his hands to work again to finish up his styling of Blaine's hair. "I think he suspected from the beginning that something wasn’t quite right. He was _surprised_ when I told him I'd bring my boyfriend."

Blaine had to grin at that. It figured that Mr. Hummel had seen right through his own son. He might be many things, but stupid he definitely wasn't.

"Maybe you're right," he said, smiling up at Kurt.

"I'll think about it," he said after a moment of silence, then stepped back to survey his work critically. He cocked his head, flicked his finger against a strand of hair before he nodded and met Blaine's gaze. "All done." He leaned down and Blaine's chin came up of its own volition to receive the anticipated kiss. He could totally get used to this. He _wanted_ to get used to this.

"You're gorgeous," Kurt breathed against his lips before giving them a last parting peck and straightening back up. Blaine handed him his towel from before so Kurt could clean his hands perfunctorily, and received another quick kiss for that. Then Kurt turned, grabbed his garment bag and headed back to the bathroom. "I'll be right out."

He wasn't, but Blaine didn't really care in the end because _when_ he did, he almost made Blaine's heart stop. As soon as he spotted Kurt in the doorway to the bathroom, his breath caught in his throat and he got up slowly from his perch on the bed, staring open mouthed at Kurt who was giving him a sweet smile. He twirled around once to show off the whole tux before coming over to Blaine.

"I really, _really_ want to peel you back out of this thing," Blaine whispered and made Kurt laugh. Blaine couldn't help checking Kurt out, letting his gaze rake over his slim form and appreciate every stitch that had made this garment look so gorgeous on him. The gray jacket hugged Kurt's shoulders and chest perfectly, making the dark red tie pop even more, and the cut of the trousers complimented his long legs and slim hips. The whole ensemble called attention to his tall figure and his exceptional waistline. And speaking of which: that waistcoat Kurt was wearing did _unspeakable_ things to Blaine's libido. How was he supposed to survive the whole day without jumping Kurt?

"We should really get going soon," Kurt said, running his hand over Blaine's shoulder before nodding in the direction of his garment bag that still housed Blaine's jacket. "Come on."

Blaine nodded, went to get his jacket and quickly slipped into it, closing the first of the two buttons. He received an appreciative stare from Kurt, just like he'd gotten at the store, and he couldn't help but smile at that. Looked like they both had some leverage to drive each other crazy today.

When they opened their door and stepped into the corridor, they were greeted by a low whistle and a "Looking _good_ , boys!" from Santana. They turned almost in unison and came face to face with Santana, Alexis and Quinn. All three of them were dressed in elegant, floor length, body conscious gowns. Santana popped out in a fire red ensemble with quite a lot of cleavage and thin straps curling over her bare shoulders. Quinn's dress was a pale blue with a high neck and short sleeves. Alexis wore a simple classic: strapless and black, emphasizing her curvy figure and pale skin.

"Well, _you_ can certainly stop traffic, too," Kurt said, walking over and giving Santana and Quinn each a quick, careful kiss on the cheek, mindful of their make up. "You might have to fend the men off with a stick though," he said to Alexis, nodding in Santana's direction.

Alexis laughed, looking over his shoulder at Blaine and raising an eyebrow. "I don't think I have to worry too much about Santana hogging all the male attention."

Kurt's head turned, looking at Blaine as well and giving him a speculative gaze that made heat curl low in Blaine's gut. He shrugged, walked over and let his hand slide to the small of Kurt's back.

"You guys want to ride with us?" Quinn asked, holding up the key to her rental. "It's my turn."

Blaine couldn't help but stare at her heels. "How can you even _drive_ in those things?" he asked, sounding a little incredulous. But really, he wasn't even sure how women _walked_ in these things, much less drove a car.

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "By doing it with bare feet?"

Ah. Okay, that sounded reasonable and _way_ less dangerous.

Kurt, however, looked confused. "I thought Tina's family was paying for all the cabs today?"

"They do. But I've got to leave early tonight," she explained. "Something came up at work and I had to switch my flights, so now I'm catching a flight at eight and I have to bring the rental back so..."

"In that case," Blaine said, squeezing Kurt's hip. "We'd love to ride with you."

* * *

When they arrived at the church, the others were already there, clustered around the front entrance of the church like they'd agreed on yesterday. Neither bride nor groom were anywhere in sight, but Rachel was flitting from one person to the next, giving out something. Blaine looked curiously at Kurt while they exited the car, but he just shrugged his shoulders, obviously not in the know either.

She looked stunning in a short-skirted burgundy dress with champagne colored trimmings around the bodice and skirt's hem. The skirt itself was puffed up slightly with tulle, giving the whole ensemble a certain Sixties chic. Rachel's hair was lose around her shoulders, held in place by a burgundy hair ribbon.

"Hey, guys!" Rachel greeted them as soon as she caught sight of them. She hurried over with a box of something. When she was close enough, Blaine finally saw that it was a box full of burgundy boutonnieres and champagne colored wrist corsages. She handed Kurt and him each a boutonniere, then walked over to the girls and gave them the wrist corsages.

"Put those on, please," Rachel said, looking around the group. Probably making sure they were complete. "I have to distribute the rest of these before I can join you, but it shouldn't take too long so _please_ don't run off!" She was looking pointedly at Finn who just raised his hands to signal he wasn't planning on it, honestly! Rachel huffed, then hurried off around the side of the church.

"Go on in, babe," Santana said, giving Alexis a small kiss before she watched her climb the stairs and vanish inside.

Kurt took the boutonniere out of Blaine's hand and started pinning it to the lapel of his jacket. "Don't you look dashing with that," he said, voice warm and eyes shining brightly when they met Blaine's.

Blaine smiled and took Kurt's boutonniere to do the same for him. "Likewise," he said, then leaned forward and kissed him briefly, feeling all warm and loved and so happy he could’ve burst.

"Have you guys started warming up yet?" Quinn's general question made them pull back and look at her.

Puck scoffed. "I'm surprised we've all been punctual enough to be _here_ already."

Kurt made a face as if he had to agree with that assessment. "I suppose Rachel is all ready to go, though," he threw in.

Everyone made an affirmative sound at that, and Blaine couldn't help but smile. He raised his hand. "We could start without her? Find a secluded corner and do some voice exercises until she's done?"

"Good idea," Puck said, pointing at him.

They made their way around the church until they got to a quiet corner in the gardens. They assembled, standing in a loose group with each voice range in a cluster, and got to work. Blaine, having experience with choirs and arrangements, led them through some routines before leading them into the first verse of their first song. Even though most of these people hadn't sung properly for a few years, they sounded surprisingly good.

Rachel seemed to think so too. She was suddenly there, standing by Blaine's side and looking at the group that was now lost in a debate about how they'd never done this professional shit during Glee club and why hadn't they, exactly?

"We're going to blow Mike and Tina away," Rachel said quietly, not taking her eyes away from the group.

"I think you're right," Blaine agreed. He took one more look at the group before he turned his head to give her his full attention. "So, how is this going to work?"

Rachel's head turned so she could look at him. "Well, I wasn't able to persuade Tina's mom to let us sing 'Marry You' instead of the traditional wedding theme, so Tina walks down the aisle with that as accompaniment. But I _was_ able to get her to agree to let us sing it before the priest starts the actual wedding. I'll explain the details while we go in. Lucky for us, Tina has been very vocal about how she does _not_ want the wedding march to accompany her out of the church, so I was able to suggest we sing the Air Supply song as a farewell to their single lives."

"Sounds perfect," Blaine said quietly, smiling at her.

"It will be," she said, nodding firmly. She patted his arm before raising her voice to say, "Okay everyone, could you please go into the church now? Travis and Mike will be here shortly and it won't be long after that before Tina arrives."

"How did you explain that you had to be here before her?" Artie wondered aloud.

Rachel beamed at him. "Oldest trick in the book: making sure that the flower arrangement in the church is exactly as she has specified it. She and her mother have been in constant fights over this for _months_."

"Clever," someone mumbled and the group started walking to the church. Kurt came to him, entwined their fingers and gave him a happy little smile before they followed the group, listening to Rachel explain her plan about how to go about performing 'Marry You' to everyone. Blaine had to grin when he heard it, and a frisson of anticipation started bubbling up in him. He was really getting excited about this whole thing.

Inside, it was dimly lit and Rachel waved them to the front rows. The first two rows on each side of the aisle were reserved for the parents, siblings and close relatives. The ones after those were reserved for the former members of the Glee club. As had been discussed before, the men all sat on Mike's side while the women seated themselves on Tina's.

The church filled rapidly, the conversations a low murmur that set Blaine a little at ease and calmed his heart rate down. It was soothing to listen to the chatter of complete strangers while mentally running through the songs they were about to perform in a little bit. Kurt was talking to Nick who was seated with them, and he looked so relaxed and in tune with himself that Blaine's throat closed up with how much he wanted Kurt to always look like that and making _personally_ sure that he did. He pressed his shoulder against Kurt's to reconnect with him, making him look over and smile in the process. They grinned at each other for a moment before Blaine leaned over and whispered, "Thank you for bringing me."

Kurt's whole face softened and his hand came up to cup Blaine's cheek. "Thank you for doing this for me," Kurt countered in a soft voice, then drew him into a hug.

"You two are _too_ cute," Puck simpered from Blaine's other side. Kurt didn't even let go of Blaine while he said, "Shut up, Puckerman."

Blaine snickered, hiding his face briefly against Kurt's neck, then he reluctantly let him go, still grinning at him.

A side door opened and Mike and Travis came into view, along with two other Asian guys. Mike looked fantastic in all black with a slim burgundy tie. Apparently burgundy was the recurring color scheme for this wedding. The three groomsmen wore similar attire, except their shirts were champagne and they had burgundy trimmings on the lapels of their suit jackets. All four of them came to a stop at the altar, with Travis making last minute adjustments to Mike's tie. Mike looked a little pale and a lot nervous but Travis talked quietly to him and earned himself a nod and a small smile. Travis nodded back, clapped him on the shoulder and made his way to the side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"They haven't seen each other since the party," Kurt whispered, leaning over to Blaine. "Tina's mom insisted. I think Tina was this close to just take Mike an elope with him to Vegas."

Blaine grinned, looking down. He could totally see that happening.

A murmur went through the church and Blaine turned his head to the entrance where he could see Rachel, waiting with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Apparently Tina had put her foot down about a flower girl. Tina's mom was probably deeply disappointed about having such a non traditional daughter.

The music started and Rachel began her march down the aisle. In her wake followed two other women similarly clad as Rachel, both Asian as well and one looking a lot like she might be related to Tina. They came to a stop at the front of the church after each of them had given Mike an encouraging smile which he probably barely noticed. His gaze was glued to the entrance of the church and his hands were shaking so hard that Blaine could see it from his seat.

Then it turned quiet, and the wedding theme started. Everyone got up under the sound of rustling clothes and bitten off conversations and turned to look at the entrance as well. When Tina appeared arm in arm with her father, everyone's breath seemed to stop.

She was breathtaking in her simple, champagne colored dress with a short trail and discreet burgundy highlights woven into the skirt and bodice. When she came closer, Blaine could also make out some intricate stitching along the hem and all over her bodice. She looked radiant under her cheekily crooked veil, smiling at nothing but the man in the front waiting for her. Blaine's gaze wandered over to him and his face softened when he saw the shell shocked look on Mike's face. Nothing on this earth could've made him look away from Tina right now.

When she passed their row and revealed her back to them, Blaine could see that the bodice was actually an integrated corset. Burgundy satin ribbons crisscrossed over her back, pulling everything tight and giving her an amazing figure.

The pair stopped and her father opened the veil. He looked at her before he leaned down to give her a kiss on each cheek. Then he turned and took Mike's hand to place it in Tina's. The couple never lost eye contact during that little ritual. As soon as Tina's father had stepped back and sat down, everyone else did too.

Well, except for their group. At first Tina and Mike didn't even notice that two rows full of their friends were still standing and that Rachel had found her way over to the girl's side of the aisle. But then Blaine nodded to Sam, Archie and Puck and they started to snap their fingers, getting a rhythm going. Finn chimed in by clapping his hands against the wood of the bench in front of him, echoed by more finger snapping from the girl's side. And then the boys began to sing.

They'd changed the lyrics up a bit to fit the occasion better, but Mike and Tina didn't seem to care. As soon as the first notes of the song came from the boys' side, they turned around in shock and wonder that morphed into utter delight when they realized what was happening. They stared at their friends with huge smiles on their faces, holding each other tight and looking from one side of the aisle to the other. Tina looked at Mike at one point, probably asking if he had something to do with this but he just shook his head, not stopping to look at them with a beatific smile on his face.

They were singing harmonies during the chorus, with Puck giving Tina a suggestive eyebrow wiggle that made Tina throw her head back and laugh heartily. Mike's grin got even bigger and his hand slid around her waist to pull her closer.

They repeated the chorus three times in total and ended with the first verse, their voices echoing each other in a four way harmony. As soon as they'd finished, Mike and Tina started clapping and whooping, the rest of the guests following suit. Blaine just smiled at them both, and the quick look he managed to throw down their row showed him that he wasn't alone in his utter delight about their reactions. They sat down almost in sync after another moment so that the priest could start his service. Rachel slipped back to the front, earning herself another huge smile from Tina when she came to a stop by her side.

The priest stepped forward with a slight spring in his step. Apparently he'd been just as touched as the bride and groom over the impromptu performance. Beaming at the audience and then at the couple in front of him, he started, "Welcome to this festive occasion! We're gathered here together today to bind this young man and woman in holy matrimony." He paused for a moment before he continued, "I talked to them both before the wedding, and both told me how music has played a huge part in both their lives. So I find it only fitting to start this ceremony with the wise words of E. Joseph Crossmann. _Love is friendship set to music._ "

Everyone laughed a little at that and Blaine felt gazes directed at them, but he didn't care because the priest was right. Music was _everything_. Without his conscious decision, he reached out for Kurt's hand and was met halfway between their bodies. He smiled briefly at Kurt before directing his gaze back to the front.

"And what a cheerful soundtrack you just got to start your marriage," the priest added. "It does bode well for the rest of your future together." There was another titter of laughter he waited out before he started the actual ceremony.

It was beautiful and fairly brief. Blaine clutched Kurt's hand the whole time, laughing in parts and biting his lip to stop himself from tearing up when Mike's hands shook so hard he almost let the ring drop. But then the priest declared them husband and wife, and they kissed quite enthusiastically. When Mike dipped her to deepen the kiss, everyone started clapping and hollering until he put her back on her feet. They were beaming at each other, their foreheads resting together while whispering something that the rest of the church couldn't hear over the roar of the applause.

Rachel gave a little nod to the boy's row to start their next song. As they’d decided, they would start with the changed lyrics to fit Tina, and when Blaine looked over to the girl's row and caught Quinn's gaze, he nodded at her to get ready. They all stood up as one, making the guests taper off in confused anticipation.

Rachel, still in the front, raised her voice to be heard over the crowd and said, "Mike, Tina. We'll congratulate you both in person later, but right now we'd like to wish you all the best and want to send you off into a future together in the only way we consider appropriate for our friends."

With that, she walked over to the girls' row, exchanged a glance with Blaine who started counting them in. Sam and Blaine started humming the melody, soon joined by Kurt and Artie's higher voices. Then the girls started to sing.

" _When he looks at me I know the boy sees things nobody else can see_ ," rang out in the church, while the girls swayed from side to side, still accompanied by the humming of the boys. The next part split off into a two way harmony, carrying on until they reached the chorus. Everyone stopped humming and joined in with the girls, echoing them in the lower registers.

" _Come what may, he believes and that faith is something I've never known before_."

Blaine caught a glimpse of Tina trying to brush away the tears spilling over her cheeks and couldn't help but look at Kurt from the side. He looked gorgeous while he sang his heart out, feeling every emotion in the notes of the song and making Blaine so, _so_ glad that the passion Kurt had for music also extended to him.

They finished the chorus and the girls tapered off, the boys taking over now and singing the original lyrics while the girls hummed the melody as backup.

When they came to the part of the song with the darkest hour and that she would go right on loving him, Blaine could see Mike's eyes brimming with tears too. He leaned down to Tina, gave her a kiss and murmured something to her. Judging from her teary expression, it was probably a declaration of love. They hugged each other tight and didn't let go for the whole time their group repeated the chorus.

Then they came to the bridge and they started echoing parts of the lines back to each other, only reuniting again for the last line and singing, " _Shining in your eyes_ " directly at the couple. That was the signal for them to slowly file out of their rows and place themselves on both sides of the aisle, mimicking an honor guard for Mike and Tina.

They were on their last repeat of the chorus now, with Rachel, Mercedes and Santana throwing in some high notes to make the whole thing even more extravagant and flashy. The boys had gone back to backup, only occasionally breaking it up with an echoed phrase. Tina and Mike were finally walking down the aisle together to the exit, clinging to each other and smiling through their tears. When they reached the doors and opened them to walk outside, the last notes of their song tapered off and the rest of the guests rose to follow the happy couple.

Blaine's heart was pounding heavily in his chest and he panted after exerting himself like that. Sometime after they'd positioned themselves in the aisle, he'd grabbed Kurt's hand again and was still clinging to it. They were both sweating into the touch, but neither of them cared.

"This wedding was perfect," Blaine whispered, staring at the exit and into the sunlight.

Kurt's grip on his hand tightened briefly. "Yes, it was," he agreed before he tugged gently on Blaine's arm. Together, they followed the masses out the door to wave after Mike and Tina who were just sliding into a limousine. They would see them soon at the reception. For now, Blaine could stay here at the top of the church's stairs, enjoy the sun and enjoy this whole experience of being part of a group with all these amazing people. But most of all, he could enjoy all of it with Kurt by his side.


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh my god oh my god oh my _god_!" was the first thing Tina said to them an hour later when they entered the reception hall. Then she was throwing herself at Kurt in a crushing hug before releasing him and doing the same to Blaine.

"This was the best surprise ever and I cried like a baby and thank you _so much_ , guys!" she babbled, embracing Kurt once more and holding her hand out for Blaine to pull him in, too. He didn't resist and slung his arm around her shoulder and Kurt's, hugging them both from the side.

"It made this whole wedding so special to us," came Mike's voice from behind before his hand landed on Blaine's shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "Thank you, truly."

"You didn't actually think that you could escape us, did you?" Santana asked, just entering the hall with Alexis by her side, closely followed by Quinn. "We had to see you off properly."

"You did, and I can't thank you enough," Tina said, looking like she might start crying again real soon. She let go of Kurt and Blaine and threw herself at the girls.

"You haven't planned any more surprises, have you?" Mike asked, only half joking.

Kurt just shrugged and slung his arm around Blaine's waist. "Guess you'll have to wait and see." And with that they moved on, shaking hands with Tina and Mike's parents before entering the dining room.

It was beautifully arranged. They'd only seen the bare bones while they'd practiced, with catering and the employees of the reception hall still putting everything up. But now they were looking at a sea of big, round tables with pristine white linens and ten table settings each. The silverware and dishes were glinting under the sun that was coming through the huge bay windows, which showed an exceptional view of the green gardens. And the flowers, placed at strategic points throughout the room and in discreet arrangements on each table, were a vision in burgundy and champagne, continuing the wedding color scheme to the t. In short: the room looked festive and breathtaking.

They spotted the big board near the entrance with a drawn blueprint of the room and walked over to scan the seating arrangement. It took them a moment to find their table and see who would be sitting with them. When they did, Kurt had to grin. Blaine glanced at it too to see what had amused him so much, but still wasn't quite sure what it was, even after he'd read that they'd been seated with almost the whole former Glee club. All except for Artie and Brittany, who sat with someone named Sugar Price plus husband. Which, really, was a ridiculous name but seemed to mean something to Kurt. Maybe that's why he was grinning so hard.

"Let's go," Kurt said, nudging Blaine gently in the direction of their table. Blaine had spotted Finn and Puck at the bar in the back near the stage where the band would be playing later tonight. Sam and his wife were already seated.

They'd barely made three steps in the direction of their table when Santana's arm came around Blaine's shoulder and startled him into turning his head.

"Saw that we're going to party together, bitches," she said to him, grinning widely and squeezing his shoulder.

Blaine couldn't help but smile back. "Looks like it."

"You two going to make out again?" she asked with a wink, letting go of Blaine after Kurt had given her a pointed look. He reached for Blaine’s arm as soon as he was free of Santana and all four of them made their way slowly to their table.

Kurt gave her another pointed look. "We weren't planning on it, no."

Blaine, who had linked arms with Kurt at this point, leaned over so he could whisper into Kurt's ear and ask with a playful undertone, "We're not?"

Kurt came to an abrupt halt, looking torn between laughing and being tempted. Blaine couldn't stop the impish grin form on his face when he saw that reaction and Kurt rolled his eyes, grabbing Blaine's hand. "Maybe later, if you're _really_ lucky," he said quietly, giving back just as impish a grin as Blaine had thrown at him.

Blaine laughed, squeezed Kurt's arm and then let go of him to get seated.

"Hey guys," Sam greeted them with a smile. Emily waved at them, too.

"I loved the songs you sang for Mike and Tina," she said, reaching for Sam's hand. "It was a perfect balance of cliché and touching."

"I'm sure Rachel will be pleased to hear that," Kurt replied, reaching for the pitcher of water and pouring some for himself before looking questioningly at Blaine's glass. He nodded and smiled at Kurt in thanks.

One of the waiters appeared next to Blaine's elbow asking for his beverage of choice. Blaine debated with himself but then asked for some white wine. He wouldn't drink it right away anyway and it would have some time to breathe before the meal started. Kurt seemed to have the same idea because he asked for one too. 

Sam raised an eyebrow at them, smiling at Blaine. "You going to get drunk and make out again?"

Blaine had the distinct feeling that they were being made fun of, but just as Kurt had dealt with it before with Santana, he denied it with an unimpressed look and a few words.

The room was filling up faster now, and soon Quinn and Mercedes joined them at their table. The waiter was just bringing their drinks and Mercedes, seeing the glass of wine put down in front of Kurt, ordered one for herself. Quinn just raised her eyebrow and asked around a teasing smile, "You're not going to make out again, are you?"

"Seriously?" Kurt exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It's _one_ glass of wine, guys. No, we're _not_ going to make out in front of everyone after _one_ glass of wine."

"Won't stay at one though," Mercedes said, grinning at them. Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes up. Blaine patted his hand consolingly and took a sip from his glass, just to be contrary. Quinn only laughed and ordered herself a soda.

They were joined shortly after by Puck and Finn who'd found their way back from the bar, each with a drink in hand, thankfully of the alcoholic kind. That would hopefully get everyone else off their backs.

"How's it going, ladies and dudes," Puck said while he sat down, right across from Blaine and Kurt. As soon as he spotted their wine, Blaine knew what would come out of his mouth and mentally braced himself for Kurt's explosion.

"You're going to get drunk and do the nasty in public again, aren't you?" he said, looking from Blaine to Kurt and back, a knowing glint in his eyes.

Kurt seemed to have had enough. "Yes, Puck," he said in a very sweet, very fake voice and pulled Blaine closer by his shoulder, surprising Blaine so hard that he almost sloshed the water he'd just reached for all over his hands. "We're totally going to do it right here on this table, just for you. Maybe you'll learn a few things, too."

With that, he slid his hand provocatively down the front of Blaine's shirt, making him jump in the process at how much he _liked_ the possessive touch. He threw Kurt a confused look and hoped he was masking his instant arousal better than he thought because _Jesus Christ_ did he want to tackle Kurt to the floor right now and kiss him stupid. But Kurt was still staring determinedly at Puck, not giving an inch, and was therefore not privy to Blaine's silent freak out over how much Kurt had turned him into an exhibitionist.

Puck raised his hands in defeat, laughing under his breath. "Chill, Hummel. I was just asking."

"No, you weren't," Kurt insisted, but let it go anyway. His hand vanished from Blaine's chest and he had to suppress the disappointed pout that threatened to appear on his face at that. Kurt's head turned to give him a sheepish look. "Sorry."

"Oh, don't be," Blaine said huskily, biting his lower lip just to see him flush prettily. Kurt's eyes locked in on it, his mouth opening slightly. " _I_ wasn't the one who vetoed the making out in public."

Kurt swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving Blaine's mouth. Then, after a beat of silence, he looked up and mumbled, "Tease." His smile was warm though, and he looked a little impressed with Blaine's seduction techniques.

They probably would've continued in that fashion if Mike and Tina hadn't entered the room at that moment and everyone had started clapping. Blaine and Kurt both rose together with everyone else, cheering for the newlyweds who made their way to the front to get seated, followed closely by their bridal entourage.

As soon as everyone was seated again, they started serving the food, which was a delicious combination of seasonal vegetables, different tender meats and light dressings. The dessert was just as fabulous. The whole food was clearly aimed to please the pre-summer palate of the guests so it wouldn't be too heavy. Blaine could've continued eating for days, and judging by the looks on Finn and Puck's faces, they were in the same boat.

Conversations were flowing just as much as the accompanying wines did, to each course a different one with a different flavor. Blaine actually had to stop the waiter from refilling his glass at one point when he started to get light headed pretty fast. He'd rather not be drunk off his ass when it was barely two in the afternoon.

The meal lasted about three hours in total, with guests leaving their tables to mingle and talk to other guests in between courses. A petite, very lively young woman with a baby in her arms came over to their table at one point, getting enthusiastic greetings from everyone.

"I wish I could've sung with you guys," she said to Santana while Alexis was cooing at the little girl sleeping in her mother's arms. "But Nat was so sick that I just couldn't leave her alone to come practice. You managed just fine without me."

"We still missed you, Sugar," Quinn said, looking down at the baby too.

It finally clicked in Blaine's head when he heard the name and remembered the conversation they'd had with Mike and Tina in the beginning of the week. So that was the person who hadn't been sure if she could make the reunion on Monday night and had then been missing from their group the whole week. She was certainly something, Blaine had to admit.

"Well, Wesley wasn't really ready to care for her all by himself anyway, so it was probably for the best," she waved Quinn's words away. Blaine caught a glimmer of regret on Quinn's face when she stroked a careful hand over the downy hair of the baby, but it vanished as soon as it had appeared, making Blaine doubt that he'd actually seen anything.

"Speaking of which," Sugar said, standing up and waving back at her table. "I think he's getting lonely. See you guys later!" With that she was gone as quickly as she'd appeared, leaving behind a cloud of flowery perfume and good cheer.

After the food there were speeches from several people, including Travis who started with an apology about his terrible skills at public speech and then reduced everyone to tears when he talked about true love and high school romance that outlasted the years and the newlyweds being the perfect example that it _can_ work. Blaine let his hand slide onto Kurt's thigh at one point and squeezed his knee to make a point that _yes_ , it _can_ work and that he hoped him and Kurt would be one of those couples, too. Kurt seemed to understand the silent promise, for he covered Blaine's hand with his own to squeeze back, not taking his eyes away from Travis even once.

Then there was the father of the groom who, while a bit formal, seemed to genuinely care about his son and his happiness and wished the couple a bright future together. After that came the father of the bride who displayed an until then unknown knack for comedy, bringing half the room close to falling off their chairs with anecdotes about Tina's toddler days and making Tina laugh out of embarrassment and fondness in equal measures. When he came to a close, looking wistful and _so proud_ of his child, he got them all to raise their glasses in a toast to the happy couple. They all cheered with him.

Then Tina stood up, taking the mic from her father and smiling at her guests. "Hi everyone," she said, doing a dorky little wave that earned herself a smatter of laughs. "Thank you all for coming to Ohio for us. I know it's been quite a way for some of you." She pointed to someone in the back Blaine didn't know before she continued, "Anyway. Mike and I both felt that we had to get married here, where everything started. Our life in L.A. is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but Lima is where we met and fell in love, and we wanted to honor that."

She looked down at Mike who was gazing up at her with hearts in his eyes. He held out his hand and she took it, entwining their fingers and for a moment nobody else existed for them except each other. Blaine felt his throat close up at how _in love_ these two still were even after so many years together. He wanted that, too.

'Maybe I can have it now,' he thought, looking at Kurt who was just as affected by the display of love as everybody else. He really, _really_ hoped that he would.

Tina shook herself out of it after a moment, smiling sheepishly at them all. "I read a saying somewhere a few weeks ago, when I was trying to put this speech together. I don't remember who it was from, but it stuck with me. Anyway, it said, _'Three things of life that are most valuable. Love, self-confidence and friends'_. I found all three when I was fifteen. I know that most people aren't that lucky, but I was, and I'm thankful for that every day. I love my husband, and _God_ I can't believe that I can call him that now!"

Everybody laughed at her giddy exclamation, clapping and cheering when she leaned down and gave Mike a slow, lingering kiss. She laughed and continued, "Where was I? Oh, yes. My husband. I love him and I wouldn't want to be without him. He played a huge part in finding myself and loving myself. And, of course, I want you all to give a warm round of applause to my awesome friends who also played a not so minor part in shaping the woman I am today. And who gave Mike and me the best wedding gift ever."

Everybody started cheering again and Blaine couldn't help but chime in, giving all these amazing people the applause they so rightly deserved. He hadn't been an original member of this group of friends, but he understood what it had to have meant to be part of this group, and how much strength they must have given each other. He was thankful to them not only for helping Tina, but for helping Kurt survive high school as well.

When the applause died down, Tina nodded at all of them and said, "Thank you again for making this special day even more special by being here with us. Enjoy the rest of the day, there will be cake later!"

The guests laughed and hollered when Tina sat down, getting pulled into a hug from Mike right away before they kissed once more. Blaine was watching them, knowing that he probably looked close to tears but not giving a damn about it. These two just tugged at his heart strings and he didn't care if he sat here watching them with his chin on his clasped hands like some romance novel heroine. Kurt, who was giving him a fond look over his shoulder, didn't seem to care much either.

The guests quieted down when Rachel stood up and took the mic. She cleared her throat briefly, making quick eye contact with every single member of the former Glee club before she started, "When Tina asked me to be her maid of honor, I was over the moon. I've been friends with her for many years at this point. I saw her grow into the person she is now, and she helped me be a better person in return. We moved to L.A. together after high school and I owe her and Mike so much."

She stopped herself when tears threatened to choke her up. Tina's whole face softened and she stood up to hug her, eliciting a round of sympathetic noises. Blaine, though, looked at Kurt's rigid back and reached out to run a soothing hand over it. Kurt had to have known that Rachel had been hurt by the sudden radio silence. Blaine was sure it wasn't really a surprise, but it would probably take a long time until Kurt would get over it, if he ever did. For now, Blaine was glad that he could make Kurt relax back into his touch and give him a warm smile over his shoulder. Blaine smiled back.

Rachel was grinning over Tina's shoulder now and hugged her back before she pushed her gently away and made her sit down again.

"Sorry about that," she said, smiling sheepishly. "As you've just witnessed, I'm not very good with expressing my feelings through words. But that's not how it works between us anyway, is it? We've always expressed our feelings through song."

She let a meaningful gaze sweep over the crowd before coming to a rest on the couple. "So, Mike and Tina, we want to give that back to you, by honoring our shared past through songs that meant a lot to us at one point, and which helped us grow up and be the people we are today. Also," she said, meeting Blaine's gaze and pointing at him with her hand, "Blaine helped us put it into a semblance of order that expresses everything we want to say to you."

Blaine ducked his head, smiling down at his lap. He'd just put the medley of the songs together, really. In the grand scheme of things it was nothing because he would never be able to understand all the meanings behind each song. But Kurt's hand sneaking into his lap to grab his hand and squeezing it gently gave him some unvoiced reassurance, let him know that he was a part of this group now, no matter if he'd known them before this week or not. He looked up and into Kurt's smiling face, letting his eyes show every emotion he felt for him. Kurt's whole face softened and the love shining in his eyes almost took Blaine's breath away.

Rachel, meanwhile, had started to lower the mic, but then brought it up quickly and added, "Oh, and many thanks to Travis for helping with this part as well!"

Then she put the mic down and left the table under some confused applause with Tina and Mike looking after her with puzzled but anticipatory smiles on their faces. On her way to Artie's table, Rachel nodded to the band who had been properly instructed what to do days ago and were just waiting for them to start.

It grew eerily quiet after that, everybody waiting with bated breath at what would happen. Blaine's pulse sped up and he took a last calming breath before he saw Rachel raise her hand.

Kurt took a deep breath next to him, opened his mouth and sang in his angelic, high voice, " _Can..._ "

They all echoed him with a harmonious and heartfelt, " _anybody..._ " 

Then the girls sang a sweet, " _find me..._ "

The boys picked it up with, " _somebody to..._ "

They met in a three way harmony to sing a drawn out and quiet, " _love..._ "

The piano player started, and all of them rose as one, making their way to the aisles left between the tables, following the choreography Travis had practiced with them. They found each other in pairs of two, with Blaine getting to dance with Rachel, and twirled each other around in an approximation of a very simplified ballroom dance.

They wove their way through the tables, never losing sight of each other while singing the song to each other over the other guests' heads. It had such an effortless and graceful touch to it, almost as if nymphs had come to dance and give their blessings to the happy couple. Blaine felt pride swell in himself. _They_ had made this happen, and in only a week. God, he hoped he would be able to call all of these amazing people his proper friends one day. He'd certainly started to see some of them as ones already.

Their singing came to a slow, practiced stop and the piano player slowed down along with them. The electric guitar started up without missing a beat, weaving its melody into and around the piano music. Puck made a dorky move that had _not_ been practiced, before he recited in an exaggerated voice, " _It's astounding, time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll_." They let go of each other, putting themselves into place while Puck sang the rest of his lines, accompanied by Mercedes before they all met in the chorus line, raising their arms in the air.

Now came the hard part. Archie led them in by saying his lines and twirling his wheelchair effortlessly. The rest of them all did amazingly well with the steps and turns. Blaine hadn't had this much fun in a long time and his gaze traveled to Kurt a few rows over to his right. He was totally absorbed in the dance moves, swaying his hips and making Blaine want to go over there, grab them and pull their bodies closer until they would grind against each other. He let that train of thought go quickly before he accidentally stumbled over his own feet.

The part in the song with the _pelvic thrust_ came up and Kurt's swiveling hips almost undid Blaine entirely, but then his attention was caught by Puck who was thrusting his pelvis exaggeratedly in Tina's direction, including a suggestive eyebrow wiggle and making Tina crack up completely. Blaine couldn't help but laugh as well, almost bumping into Sam who could barely sing through his big grin. But then they did their last line of the song and breathed out, coming to a complete stop and getting ready for the last song. This one didn't have any choreography, even though it was the one that had the most meaning and full circle moment for all of them, as Blaine had been told when he'd asked them how they wanted the songs to fit together.

They ba-dap-ba-dap-ed their way through the beginning, starting to meet in front of the table with the bridal couple until they formed a loose group. Blaine stood somewhere to the left of Mike, having gravitated back to Kurt's side after the choreography. He slung his arm around Kurt's shoulder, waiting for Rachel to finish her lines before he belted out, " _Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard_ " completely in tune with everyone else who wasn't providing background vocals.

Kurt's arm slid around his waist when they neared the chorus, and when they actually started that one up, singing a heart felt " _Don't stop believin'_ " in perfect harmony, their group started clapping the beat together with the band, encouraging everyone else to join them in their celebration. Mike and Tina had jumped up before the chorus had even properly started, joining them all and hugging their way through their group while singing with them until the very last, glorious note.

The whole room erupted in cheers when they finished up and Blaine, high on adrenaline and life, pulled Kurt into an enthusiastic hug, laughing over his shoulder. Kurt clutched him back just as fiercely, and then the rest of the group descended on them and it was one big pile of people, laughing and cheering and clapping each other on the back.

Blaine couldn't think of a place he would rather be at that moment.


	15. Chapter 15

The formal part was over after that. The caterer cleared away the table settings and a few employees from the reception hall came in to dismantle some of the round tables, then put the chairs near the windows and walls to clear a space for a dance floor later on. They also brought in three oblong tables and put them up at the wall near the entrance. They would house the light buffet later in the evening.

Mike and Tina, still high on adrenaline after the performance, were more or less kidnapped by their wedding photographer to do their photos out in the garden as long as they still had natural light. She wanted to start with the pictures that also showed the close relatives and bridal party, so after waving at their guests and promising to see them later, the couple and their families plus their entourage vanished out the patio doors with the couple giggling like little kids.

Everyone else started mingling, catching up with acquaintances or chatting with new friends. Blaine felt a little sleepy after all the excitement of the past few hours and had sat down at their old table. Kurt was sitting next to him, but sideways so he could talk to Mercedes and Quinn. Blaine didn't see any harm in pulling his own chair closer, sling his arms around Kurt's waist from behind and rest his head against his shoulder blade. Kurt paused in the conversation, his hand coming up to encircle Blaine's wrist on his stomach.

"Tired?" he asked over his shoulder.

Blaine hummed in agreement and he felt Kurt relax into him. "Take your time," he said quietly, his fondness evident in his voice. "I'm not going anywhere."

Blaine squeezed Kurt's waist in thanks and closed his eyes, starting to doze a little. He ignored Mercedes' exclamation of how cute he looked all snuggled up against Kurt, and Kurt pretty much dismissed it too by continuing their earlier topic of conversation.

He might've actually nodded off at one point – not so surprising, with Kurt all warm and solid under him, making sure that Blaine was fine – when he was startled out of it by raised voices coming from the other side of the room. His head shot up when he recognized the voices as Finn and Puck's, and he looked around until he spotted them. They seemed to be engaged in an argument that was rapidly escalating, if Blaine read the expression on Finn's face correctly.

"Kurt?" he mumbled, tucking on Kurt's jacket briefly to get his attention. Kurt's head turned first to Blaine and then, after a nod in the two men's direction, to Puck and Finn.

"That doesn't look good," Kurt said quietly, his body tensing in anticipation in case he had to get up in a hurry to prevent worse from happening. In the end he didn't have a chance to react at all.

Blaine could only catch a few snippets about friendship and disappointment whenever their voices were loud enough to actually carry. But from one moment to the next, Finn exclaimed, "That's not the fucking _point_!" and pushed Puck violently away. Puck, in a stroke of bad luck, didn't catch himself in time and stumbled backwards into the buffet table where the caterers had just arranged the enormous wedding cake.

It was as if time froze up, making everyone look on in horror when Puck and the cake made intimate acquaintance with each other, both of them landing on the floor in a heap of black suit and white icing. For a long moment, nobody even dared to move, let alone say anything.

Then Finn seemed to regain the function of his limbs. "Shit, shit, _sorry_!" he exclaimed while he hurried over to Puck, holding out a hand to help him up. "Are you okay, man?"

" _I'm_ fine," Puck said, looking a little dazed in the middle of the floor, surrounded by destroyed wedding cake. He looked at his hands with a grimace. "But the cake, not so much."

Later, nobody was able to pin down who had started to laugh first, but soon the whole room was dissolved into helpless, hysterical laughter which could only be a reaction to the shock of what had just happened. Mrs. Cohen-Chang, who had not been present for the actual accident, came running into the room from the gardens. As soon as she saw the destroyed wedding cake, she clapped a hand over her mouth, gasping in shock. 

"What in the name of _God_ has _happened_ here?" she pressed out between her teeth, fixing her glare on Puck who was still covered in icing, and then Finn who still stood beside his friend, a hand under his elbow. They both fidgeted under her baleful look, then looked at each other and, in a fit of sheer cowardice, fled the reception hall.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Mrs. Cohen-Chang shouted, hurrying after them. "Who is replacing that cake now? We can't _not_ have a _cake_! _Get back here this instant, young men!_ " Then she was out of the room, leaving silence behind. Someone somewhere snickered, and the room was off again. Blaine tried to stifle his giggles against Kurt's shoulder, but Kurt was shaking with laughter under him and set Blaine off again.

Finn and Puck were still MIA when the photographer's assistant came inside from the gardens and asked Tina and Mike's friends to please come outside for some group shots with the couple. They followed her outside and to a quiet corner somewhere in the back. It was a gorgeous location. A white, intricately shaped iron bench stood under the protective cloak of a weeping willow in full bloom. Tina and Mike were still sitting on it, doing some last shots with the photographer who assured them that they were almost done. The couple did look tired around the eyes by now, but Blaine supposed everybody would after over an hour of taking shot after shot.

"Okay, that was the last one," the photographer said, rising up from her knees where she'd taken the last shot up at the couple. Both relaxed and slumped in on themselves, then straightened up when they saw their friends coming.

"Hey guys," Tina said, waving at them. "You came to get tortured by Ellen!"

The photographer shot her an unimpressed look before she turned and surveyed the group. "Okay, here's how I want this to go," she said, starting to point. "I want the girls to get photographed with the bride first, and the guys with the groom. Then we switch, and then a group shot with all of you. We start with the girls."

Ellen was brisk, but polite and very efficient. And she had an eye for good locations. After looking around the gardens for a moment, she pointed to an apple tree that was still in full bloom, and the group wandered over to it. The boys took the time to sit down in the grass and relax while they waited.

Blaine spotted a flat stone a little off to the side that was big enough to sit comfortably on it. He sank down, took Kurt's hand and pulled him down to sit between Blaine's legs. Kurt didn't even pause, just leaned back against Blaine's chest and rested his head against his shoulder. They sat there for a while, basking in the warmth of the sun under the protective shade of the trees surrounding them, and Blaine's grip on Kurt's waist tightened a little when he took a deep, content breath.

"It's beautiful out here," he murmured against Kurt's neck after a beat of silence. Kurt hummed in agreement. Blaine could see that his eyes were closed and a small smile was gracing his lips. He felt warm and proud at how relaxed Kurt looked and that Blaine had no small part in making that happen.

Loud laughter from the group of girls brought Blaine out of his musings and made him look over there. Tina looked like she was bent over from laughing so hard. He frowned in amused confusion and pressed his mouth gently against Kurt's ear to ask quietly, "What are they laughing about?"

Kurt shivered under his lips, and Blaine's senses all sharpened at once when he felt Kurt press himself back against Blaine's body.

"No idea," Kurt murmured back, letting out a small, content little sigh and sending a bolt of heat straight to Blaine's gut.

He tried to suppress the slow curl of arousal slowly unfurling in his body, but it was futile. So he leaned forward, pressed his lips against Kurt's exposed neck to rain small, soft kisses down on it before he mumbled against the hollow of his throat, "You look so gorgeous like this. All relaxed and without a care in the world. You have no idea what you do to me right now."

Kurt shivered again, followed by a bitten off moan. His head turned and his eyes opened, his gaze boring into Blaine's. "If it's even half as intense as what you're doing to me right now, I'm surprised you haven't dragged me into the bushes yet."

Blaine couldn't help the grin stretching his lips. "Who says I'm not considering the option?" he mumbled back and got a small blush for that. Oh god, seeing Kurt react to him like that _really_ made Blaine consider it in earnest, screw the consequences.

They never got the chance to decide either way. Ellen the photographer chose that moment to shout, "Okay, boys, you're up!"

They rose under groans, and Kurt held out his hand to help Blaine up from the stone. They exchanged a quick kiss when they stood face to face, making Blaine regret he didn't make more use of his chance to kiss Kurt stupid while they were relatively secluded from everyone else.

Finn and Puck chose that moment to reappear, with Puck now in a different pair of pants and just a white dress shirt. Well, that certainly explained where they'd run off to. For some reason, Tina started laughing all over again and Mike asked her what was so funny.

"They didn't tell you?" she gasped between fits of giggles, and at Mike's confused head shake she snorted, "Finn pushed him into the wedding cake and my mother had a _fit_."

Mike stared at her, doubled over in laughter again, and bit his lip. Blaine wasn't sure if he tried to stop himself from laughing with her or if he was genuinely upset about the cake, but then Tina threw her head back and shouted, "I _hated_ that cake! I ought to thank you two for fighting in sight of that ugly thing and getting rid of it!"

"You two were fighting?" Mike asked, throwing a concerned look at Finn and Puck. When they both just shrugged their shoulders, he asked, "What about?"

Both men ducked their heads and shared a quick glance. "It doesn't matter," Finn assured them. "We've sorted it out."

The whole group seemed skeptical about that but let them be, and when Ellen shouted another impatient, "Boys?" they hurried over and got into position.

Blaine had fun doing the pictures. He'd only ever posed for high school prom and his head shots for applications, but that was different. Being surrounded by people who shot the shit to make each other crack up at the most inopportune moment was so much more fun and rewarding. Even Ellen stopped trying to get them to be professional about the shoot after a while and just let them do their thing. Judging by her smile, she seemed to get a few really good shots out of it, too.

They switched groups after a while, and he even got to kiss Tina's cheek in one shot when Ellen asked them all to be silly. Tina seemed to like it because she beamed at the camera, totally ignoring Puck's wounded look at not getting the chance to kiss her other cheek because Sam was blocking his way.

Then the girls did their shoot with Mike, doing almost exactly the same thing as before and being way more professional than the boys had ever been capable of.

The shot with the whole group was madness incarnate. Ellen actually had to put her camera down at one point to compose herself or she might've cracked up with them. But they did get a couple of professional looking group shots in, so she seemed satisfied.

"Okay, guys, that's a wrap," she said when the sun was slowly starting to descent, making Blaine wonder how much time they'd spent out here. Kurt's arms that came out of nowhere and encircled his waist from behind made him lose that train of thought. Without thinking much about it, he leaned back into the embrace and covered Kurt's hands on his stomach. He turned his head slightly until the tip of his nose brushed over Kurt's cheek, and Blaine closed his eyes, a pleased little smile on his lips. They swayed back and forth, completely happy with just staying there and being together like this for their stolen moment of solitude.

The shutter of a camera made them both turn their heads and look over. Ellen was lowering her camera, smiling sheepishly at them. "Sorry, guys," she said and waved vaguely at them. "Couldn't resist, with the blossoms and the sun and everything."

"Can we see?" Kurt asked.

She shrugged and started clicking buttons on her camera. "Sure."

They approached her slowly, then looked over her shoulders at the small camera screen. When the picture popped up, Blaine drew in a startled breath.

They looked _radiant_ in the picture. They didn't even seem to notice the world around them, totally content in each other's arms. Blaine couldn't believe that he wore that expression whenever Kurt embraced him. He looked so...

"In love," he mumbled, raising his hand without conscious thought. Before he could touch the screen he became aware of what he was doing and lowered it with a sheepish grin at Ellen.

"You certainly look it," she said, giving first him and then Kurt a thoughtful stare. She hesitated briefly, then offered, "I could send it to you. For free. It wasn't part of the shoot anyway."

"Would you?" Kurt asked, still looking down at the picture with an expression Blaine had never seen on his face before. He wanted to take his face between his hands and kiss him until they both forgot how to breathe.

"Sure, no problem. Just give me your email address."

She produced a piece of paper and a pen from one of her many bags and gave it to Kurt before she started packing up her stuff. Kurt scribbled down his email address and his phone number, then handed it back.

"Thank you," he said, and Blaine echoed him. She just smiled at them and waved them away, already busy and distracted.

Blaine reached out for Kurt's hand, taking it and squeezing it. Kurt smiled, drew him closer and slid his arm back around his waist before they made their way back to the patio doors. When they got inside, the buffet – minus the cake – had been set up. Blaine caught sight of a clock near the front doors and saw that it was nearing six in the evening now and some people were starting to leave with Quinn as well as Sugar and her small family being among them.

"I wish I didn't have to leave already," Quinn mourned while she hugged her way through their group of friends. "I would've liked to see you two do your first dance as a married couple at least," she told Mike and Tina, embracing them both at once. "But needs must, as they say."

Blaine was sad to see her go. He'd really started to like her a lot during the week and he would've liked to spend some more time with her. He gave her a tight hug when she came around to say goodbye to him. She laughed and squeezed back. "It was good to meet you," she said quietly into his ear.

Blaine laughed. "The pleasure was all mine."

She pulled away, grinning at him, before she turned and embraced Kurt. She said something to him that Blaine didn't catch, but Kurt's eyes found his over her shoulder and he smiled before nodding and saying something back. It warmed Blaine to see Kurt so open and happy.

Some people started in on the buffet, sitting down in chairs or on tables and chatting amongst themselves. Blaine, not really hungry just yet, sat down next to Puck at one point after Quinn had left. Puck had built some sort of sandwich from the various offerings displayed on the buffet table. Blaine stared at it in disbelief.

"Are you ever _not_ eating?" he asked, awed.

Puck chewed and shook his head. Blaine shook his in return. "I guess the pool cleaning business keeps you in shape, huh?"

"That," Puck replied, swallowing before he grinned at Blaine. "And other extracurricular activities."

Blaine almost expected the eyebrow wiggle at this point. He bit down on his lips so he wouldn't grin at Puck and encourage him further. Instead he said in a very level voice, "You're ridiculous."

"Can't argue with the truth, man."

They sat like that for a minute, Puck eating his sandwich and Blaine looking around the room, watching people. When his gaze landed on the empty part of the buffet table where the wedding cake was supposed to be, he turned his head and asked, "So, hey. What has that fight between you and Finn been all about?"

Puck stopped chewing, seemingly frozen as if he hadn't expected that question. He started it up again soon enough, but slower. Blaine had the distinct feeling that he didn't want to talk about it. But then Puck sighed, took a sip from his beer to wash down the bite and said, "I told him I'm going to move my business to California in the fall." He paused before adding, "To be with Rachel."

"Oh."

Oh, indeed. Kurt had told him all about the shit Puck had done in high school and that he always, _always_ seemed to fall for the women Finn dated. But Finn and Rachel hadn't been a couple for many years now, Kurt had told him that, too. Still, Blaine could imagine that letting your first love go to be with the guy who impregnated your first girlfriend wasn't sitting very well with him. "I guess he didn't take it well?"

Puck snorted. "I think me moving away and leaving him behind made him madder than me having started to date Rachel again."

"Oh. Well, that is... kind of understandable, too," Blaine replied, looking over the crowd to find Finn, but he couldn't spot him anywhere. "You two have been best friends for a long time, right?"

"Since middle school," Puck confirmed. "He's an awesome guy, don't get me wrong, but he needs to figure out what he wants to do with his life and stop resenting those who _have_ figured it out."

"I'm sure he will," Kurt said, suddenly standing behind them and startling them both. Blaine instantly tipped his head back and smiled up at Kurt, who wasn't far behind with an answering grin. He stroked his hand over Blaine's shoulder and leaned down to give him a kiss. It felt weird, being upside down and all, but it certainly did interesting things to Blaine. This needed further investigation at a later date.

"I think I'm gonna..." Puck said, starting to get up but Kurt straightened up and smirked at him.

"No need to get shy on me _now_ , Puckerman. But I'm not here to molest my boyfriend in front of you anyway."

Something weird happened in Blaine's chest when he heard Kurt say _boyfriend_. His heart rate picked up and his whole body tingled pleasantly. His boyfriend. His _boyfriend_. He actually _was_ Kurt's boyfriend now, wasn't he? He could touch him and kiss him and tell him he loved him and introduce him as his _boyfriend_. Holy crap, he was going to hyperventilate any second now.

"You okay?" Kurt's worried voice broke through the fog in Blaine's head and his smile was instant and bright, startling one out of Kurt too.

"Never been better," Blaine assured him - his _boyfriend_ \- and had to grin even harder.

"Okay?" Kurt didn't sound sure that Blaine _was_ okay but seemed willing to let it go. "I just came over to let you know that Mike and Tina will start their first dance soon."

Puck and Blaine nodded in sync, which made Kurt roll his eyes fondly. He rubbed his hand over Blaine's shoulder one more time before he moved on.

"Well, this ought to be good," Puck mumbled before he clapped his hands together and stood up. "Come on, short stuff, let's get closer to the stage for this."

Blaine, who always loved to watch Kurt sing his heart out, happily complied.

* * *

"Hello, everyone, may I have your attention please?"

The room quieted down when Kurt's voice sounded over the mic. He smiled at them all. "Thank you. Now, the happy couple expressed their wishes about the song they would like to dance their first dance to as a married couple. As you might know, their wish is our command. Could the couple please find their way to the dance floor?"

Mike and Tina stood under heavy applause, with Mike supporting Tina with a hand under her elbow while she fought with the skirt of her dress. When they stood in the middle of the dance floor and looked up at Kurt on the stage, he smiled down at them. "We've already said it many times today, but it bears repeating: congratulations, you too. May you be happy together for the rest of your lives and beyond that."

There was some more applause and Kurt raised his hand to quiet them. "To stay with the theme for this day, we thought you might appreciate a few familiar voices accompanying you into your new future together. Enjoy the next three minutes."

With that he stepped back, nodded to the piano player and then to someone across the hall. The lights dimmed and the piano began playing a familiar tune. Mike and Tina turned to each other and slid effortlessly together to start their dance. It warmed Blaine's heart to see the familiarity with which Mike put his hand against the small of her back to draw her closer and how secure Tina obviously felt in the arms of her husband.

Then Kurt stepped up into the single spotlight on the stage, raised the mic to his lips and sang in his beautiful, melodic voice, " _At last..._ "

Goosebumps raised on Blaine's arms when Kurt's voice swept over him, crooning, " _my love has come along..._ "

Blaine, who had been watching Mike and Tina at first, couldn't help but look up at Kurt, who was looking straight back at him. He was singing the next line with a small smile on his lips and directing it at Blaine as much as he was directing it at Mike and Tina. Blaine's breath caught in his throat at the meaning of it all, and his face broke out in a grin. Kurt closed his eyes and sang the line after that.

" _Oh yeah, at last..._ " Rachel's voice chimed in when she stepped up next to Kurt into the light, reaching for Kurt's hand and, clasping it in hers, took over the next verse. She sang her heart out, but Blaine couldn't take his eyes off Kurt who was watching her with so much love and affection that it was almost tangible in the air. Blaine had never really understood what it'd meant for Kurt to cut himself off so completely from her. They fed off of each other, both musically and emotionally, and the two of them together on that stage were a beautiful thing to discover.

Rachel turned to look back at Kurt when they reached the first part of the bridge and took turns singing the lyrics, winding their voices together and around each other and never losing eye contact until they crescendoed into the second part of the bridge, where they echoed each other's words, just to come together in beautiful harmony to sing about the spell that was cast and that they were in heaven.

Then they turned, looked out at the audience and Tina and Mike who had completely forgotten everyone else and were absorbed in each other. Rachel slung her arm around Kurt's waist when they sang the last two lines, ending the song on a perfect, harmonious note together.

Blaine only registered that he'd started crying out of sheer joy when he raised his hand to rub over his cheek. He laughed and started clapping with everybody else, cheering for Kurt and Rachel who were hugging each other tightly on the stage, and then cheering some more for Tina and Mike who stood in the middle of the dance floor and kissed as if there was no tomorrow.

When Kurt crossed the floor and came to a stop in front of him, Blaine was still crying a little but he didn't care who saw it. He pulled Kurt into a crushing hug and whispered against his ear, "I love you so much."

Kurt's hands dug into Blaine's sides, pulling him ever so much closer. He could feel Kurt's warm breath against his neck and the slight tremble in his body before he whispered back, "I love you, too."

* * *

People started dancing and drinking in earnest after the first dance had opened up the floor. Blaine, who had consumed quite enough alcohol already over the course of this week, held himself back. As did Kurt, though Blaine wasn't sure if it was because he felt the same or because everyone was eyeing them as if they might start fucking any minute right in the middle of the dance floor. Just to screw with them all, Blaine wanted to grab Kurt and make out with him while stone cold sober. He just didn't think that Kurt would appreciate it very much.

So to not court temptation, he danced a few rounds with other people. First there was Emily, then Alexis and after that Santana. That one almost scarred him for life when she insisted that they dance really, _really_ close together because that was the spirit of this song, haven't you been listening, Anderson? But really, whose clever idea had it been to play songs from _Dirty Dancing_?

Thankfully, Kurt rescued him just in time before Santana got any more ideas. Tapping her on the shoulder, he said, "I'd like to have a chance to dance with him as well, before you break him."

Santana rolled her eyes but let go of Blaine's hands. "Later, boys."

Kurt shook his head, then smiled at Blaine who was helpless not to smile back immediately. He extended his hand for Kurt, who took it gently and then pulled him closer. Just like they usually did, they slid together like puzzle pieces that belonged together, and Blaine's head came to rest on Kurt's shoulder while they swayed to a new, slower song.

This felt so, so good. Blaine was a little sad that they'd needed so many years and a week of deception to finally get to this place, but he was glad that they _had_ managed it in the end. He still wasn't quite sure why they'd waited this long. He knew his own reasons, which mostly boiled down to 'because Kurt wanted them to be friends and he respected that'. Still, after hearing Kurt confess his feelings and that he'd had them for such a long time, Blaine was curious.

"Kurt?" he asked quietly, raising his head to look up at him. "Why _didn't_ we start dating six years ago?"

He could feel Kurt's whole body go rigid for the fraction of a second, before he let out a breath and forcibly relaxed again. Kurt's eyes wandered over Blaine's face for a while, maybe searching for something. Blaine remained calm and open to him, and it seemed to be the right thing to do. With an almost wistful little smile Kurt confessed, "Because I needed a friend more than I needed a boyfriend."

And Blaine finally got it. He wasn't sure if he ever would've been able to if he hadn't been present this week to observe Kurt with his old friends. It had shown him the massive gap between what Kurt was like with his real friends and what he'd been like with the people in New York he'd called his friends when Blaine had first met him. He'd been a shell of his former self and the 'friendships' a pale copy of what he had with all these people. Maybe his low level attraction to Blaine had helped a little, had opened a door that made it possible to truly become Kurt's friend. But in the end it didn't really matter _how_ they'd managed to become friends, just that they _had_.

"You can have both, you know?" Blaine said quietly, trying to make his point with his calm gaze. "You always could've had both."

"I know that _now_ , but I just..." Kurt said, sounding a little desperate and sad. Then he whispered, "I didn't want to lose you, too."

Blaine's heart broke at that. He wanted to assure Kurt that he had nothing to worry about, and he wanted to make sure that Kurt got it and _believed_ him. So he stopped right there in the middle of the dance floor, took Kurt's face between his hands and said, "You're not going to lose me, Kurt. I promise."

Kurt swallowed, his gaze intent on Blaine's face. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, his whole face softened and he leaned forward to press their lips together. The grip on Blaine's waist tightened for a brief moment before Kurt's hand wandered up his back into his hair, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Blaine sighed into it, opening up and sliding his tongue between Kurt's lips.

It was slow and careful and so intimate and Blaine never wanted it to end. But of course they were still surrounded by all these people, so they stopped the kiss and just hugged, swaying from side to side until the song ended.

It was closing in on ten pm when the happy couple made signs of leaving for their honeymoon soon, which started a flurry of goodbyes and well wishes. Blaine stood a little off to the side, watching Mike and Tina's families hug the couple and making it a rather tearful farewell. Other family friends were hovering to get their turn, looking almost close to tears already too. He caught the eyes of Puck and Finn across the room and interpreted their head nods to the exits that their group would say goodbye outside. Blaine nodded to show he understood.

And then the last family member had said their goodbyes and their group wandered outside with Tina and Mike who had taken the time to change into more casual clothes. They stood in a half circle around the car that had been decorated with hearts and flowers and a big, cheesy "Just Married" sign on the rear bumper. Blaine was actually a little surprised that whoever had pimped this car had opted out of the empty cans to complete the picture.

Suddenly he had an armful of Tina and grunted, hugging her and laughing into her ear. "Oh my god, it was so great to meet you and I love you and thank you for coming!" she babbled, clearly tipsy.

Blaine rubbed her back. "You're welcome and no problem, I had a blast. Thank you for having me!"

"You're going to make Kurt happy, okay?" she mumbled against his neck and Blaine's heart beat heavily in his chest at that, swelling with love and pride for these amazing people who had somehow built a family and looked out for each other even years after high school had ended.

"I will," he promised her, giving her a gentle kiss on the temple before he let her go.

Mike clasped his hand and drew him into a loose hug. "Thank you for everything."

"My pleasure."

Mike pulled back, grinning at him and patting his shoulder one more time before moving on down the line.

And then Kurt was next to him, slinging his arm around Blaine's waist and leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine's hand lifted and carefully moved through Kurt's hair. He pressed closer so Blaine supposed he was fine with his hair being mussed. Blaine grinned at nothing and carded his fingers through Kurt's thick, soft strands while he watched Tina hug Rachel one more time and Mike exchange another handshake and half hug with Travis. Then they were climbing into their car, waving at them when the driver started it up.

"Have fun and make babies!" Puck shouted, making everyone laugh or groan in embarrassment. Rachel shook her head and let her hand slip into his. He looked down at her, his whole face turning soft. It was endearing to see, actually.

The car started pulling off the curb when Artie suddenly started singing, " _Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time_."

Everyone stared at him. After a beat of silence they chimed in and continued, " _I feel ali-hi-hi-hive_."

" _And the world is turning inside out yeah_ ," Sam picked up the song, looking at Kurt who promptly sung, " _I'm floating around in ecstasy so..._ "

" _Don't stop me now_ ," the women sang in chorus, " _don't stop me_."

" _'Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time_ ," they all picked up and turned to go back inside, continuing with the song while running and dancing through the corridor like a wild horde with Puck pushing Artie's wheelchair at high speed, everybody laughing and spurring each other on. When they burst back into the reception hall, they were still singing and the band, apparently on a break, didn't hesitate long before they picked up their instruments and enthusiastically chimed in.

They sang their hearts out, laughing their way through lines and dancing in pairs like the dorks that they were. At one point Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and twirled him around before grabbing his thigh and dipping him, making Blaine laugh so hard he almost lost his footing. He clung to Kurt's shoulders until they stood straight again before rolling his hips against Kurt's, wiggling his ass a little. Kurt's grin was so wide it was probably visible from space.

Their group found each other in the melee on the dance floor, throwing arms over shoulders and belting out, " _Don't stop me, don't stop me, ooh ooh ooh!_ ". They started to cheer when the electric guitar picked up, giving their kudos to the whole band for being so spontaneous and awesome.

Blaine caught Kurt's hand again, pulling him closer and swaying with him to the music while the rest was still belting out the lyrics to the song. He smiled up at Kurt, holding their clasped hands over his heavily beating heart. "I never would've thought that I'd have this much fun," he confessed.

Kurt looked radiant with happiness. "I had a hunch it would be like this."

"Your friends are awesome," Blaine laughed.

Kurt's whole face softened at that and he leaned down, giving Blaine a gentle kiss on his lips before brushing their noses together lightly. " _Our_ friends, Blaine. I don't think you're going to get rid of them now."

"I don't think I _want_ to get rid of them," he admitted, pulling Kurt's head closer to give him another kiss. The adrenaline urged him on to be reckless and he opened Kurt's mouth up with his tongue, thrusting inside and swallowing Kurt's eager moan. His hand on Blaine's back tightened into a fist but he didn't pull back. He changed the angle of the kiss and slid his tongue deep into Blaine's mouth, making him gasp and rub his cock against Kurt's hip.

They parted with a jolt, staring at each other. Kurt's cheeks were so prettily flushed that Blaine wanted nothing more than to touch them, so he did and let his fingertips ghost over them. Kurt's eyes fell shut and he leaned into the touch. "You're driving me crazy," Kurt mumbled, turning his head to kiss Blaine's palm. "I will _not_ start making out with you again in the middle of the room in front of everybody."

"But we're not drunk, so it doesn't count," Blaine teased, letting his hand drop to Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt laughed quietly while his gaze traveled over Blaine's face. "Later," he promised, then leaned close to Blaine's ear to murmur, "I'm totally going to blow your mind when we get back to the hotel."

All the blood in Blaine's brain instantly travelled south and he closed his eyes at the images running through his head. His mouth opened involuntarily and he bit back a groan. "Is that a promise?" he managed to get out.

Kurt straightened to look at him properly. Then he smiled. It was soft and unrestrained and full of love and so many promises that had nothing to do with tonight but all with the rest of their lives. The sheer impact it had on him almost took Blaine's breath away. And when Kurt breathed, "Yes" against his mouth, Blaine knew that it was a promise for so many other things, too.

"We're not going to tell them that we lied, are we?" ha asked after they'd exchanged another kiss.

Kurt looked around them, at these crazy, boisterous, hilarious people who had made his life in high school bearable and were still looking out for his happiness. After a moment he looked back at Blaine with a small grin. "One day, we will," he promised. His hand raised and slid into Blaine's hair, tugging him closer to breathe against his lips, "But not tonight."


	16. Epilogue

_[Three years later]_

"Are you nervous?"

Blaine looked up from where he was straightening Kurt's tie to gauge his reaction to the question, but Kurt didn't seem to have heard him.

"Kurt?"

That shook him out of whatever head space he'd been in. "Hm?"

Blaine couldn't help the smile blossoming on his face. "I asked if you are nervous."

Kurt looked confused for a second. "Why would I be nervous? The part to be nervous about is already over and done."

Blaine snorted. "I could still change my mind, you know."

"No, you won't." It was said with such conviction that Blaine had to laugh.

He grinned at Kurt and gave him a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. "No, I won't," he agreed, stroking his hand over Kurt's lapel before stepping back. Their eyes met again and Blaine smiled softly. "You know that it would be okay for you to be nervous, right? I mean, we _did_ lie to them,” Blaine pointed out.

Kurt sighed, slumping his shoulders a little. “It's the right thing to do. I just hope they won’t be mad at us.”

Blaine snorted. “Honestly? I think most of them already figured it out years ago and are just waiting gleefully to see how we’re finally going to ‘fess up.”

Kurt laughed under his breath and cupped Blaine's cheek. “You’re probably right.” They shared a quick kiss, then Blaine held out his hand for him and asked, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Kurt replied, taking his hand without hesitation. Blaine's thumb slid over the golden band he'd put on Kurt's finger mere two hours ago, still in a state of shock that they'd done this, and being able to do it _here_ of all places.

"We don't _have to_ tell them, you know?" Blaine said before he opened the door.

Kurt laughed quietly, running his other hand over Blaine's cheek. "It's kind of late for that. The announcement for the movie will be in three days and then they'll know anyway."

Blaine could feel his cheeks heat up. He never would've thought that a script for a musical movie about his _life_ would bring him fame and fortune, and especially not in Hollywood. He still wasn't sure how that had happened. Rachel was probably involved. No, she was _definitely_ involved.

"You have a point." He let out a calming breath, turned around and opened the door.

* * *

"Hello everyone," Blaine greeted their guests several hours later. "Thank you all for coming to Ohio for us. When Kurt and I started talking about making it official, we were actually planning on doing this in New York, but then Ohio legalized it here too so we thought, 'To hell with it, let's stick it to all the haters and get married on their turf'."

That earned him a volley of cheers. He ducked his head, looking at Kurt who had that amused half smile on his face.

"So, thank you for helping with that, too," Blaine added and got another round of applause and laughter.

"As some of you might know, there will be a movie announcement soon, with my husband in the leading role." Whoops and cheers erupted once again, led by Puck and Rachel, who was very, _very_ pregnant. Kurt laughed and ducked his head, but reached for Blaine's hip to pat it.

Blaine waited until the cheers had died down before he continued, "Kurt and I were debating earlier if we should actually tell you this story at all. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter because the outcome is the same: we're in love and we proclaimed that to the world this afternoon in front of the people we care most about."

He had to pause there because his throat had tightened up at that. His gaze wandered over the crowd, catching Burt's eye who they'd told pretty much the minute they'd got into the car that Sunday morning when he'd driven them back to the airport, and who really _hadn't_ been surprised at all. Blaine's gaze slid over Tina and Mike whose wedding had been the catalyst for all of Blaine's happiness, and then over to Quinn and her boyfriend of two years. He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him when he found Santana leering at him with Alexis shaking her head by her side, and behind them Sam and Emily and their one year old daughter who was happily asleep against Sam's chest. There were so many familiar faces who'd all had such an impact on both their lives that it choked Blaine up with how _thankful_ he was.

Kurt's hand slid into his and squeezed it. He looked down into his face and was met with an encouraging nod and all the love shining in his blue eyes. Blaine raised Kurt's hand to his lips, kissed the simple wedding band on his finger and ignored the exaggerated cooing noises from the crowd.

"Plus, we're pretty sure most of you concerned already know the truth anyway," Blaine picked up his speech after letting go of Kurt's hand. "But still, bear what I just said in mind while I tell you a story. See, the thing is, Kurt and I, we... we were friends first. We've loved each other pretty much from the moment we met, but for many reasons we never got around to actually say it to each other. Or acknowledge it, for that matter."

He looked at Kurt one more time and, after an imperceptible nod, he started, "Let me tell you the true story of how Kurt and I got together. Let me tell you about a week in May about three years ago that changed our lives. And let me tell you about the group of amazing people who played an integral part in making us happen..."

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> The songs used in this fic are as followed (in order of their appearance):
> 
> "If It Kills Me" by Jason Mraz  
> "Marry You" by Bruno Mars  
> "Come What May" by Air Supply  
> "Somebody To Love" by Queen  
> "Time Warp" from TRHPS  
> "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey  
> "At Last" by Etta James  
> "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen


End file.
